


Every Breath You Take

by jstabe



Category: Jossverse
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-01-02
Updated: 2012-01-14
Packaged: 2017-10-29 13:06:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 28,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/320222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jstabe/pseuds/jstabe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>William is a novelist with a stalker problem and Liam is the P.I. hired to protect him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Thank God that’s over.” William sighed and stretched. He loved book signings, loved meeting his fans, but it was absolutely exhausting.

“Yeah well, if you weren’t as gorgeous as you are talented these things wouldn’t draw near the attention they do,” Nikki replied. Nikki Clark was the manager of the bookstore holding William’s latest book signing.

William blushed and Nikki had to laugh. The writer was just so _oblivious_. He seemed to have no idea how attractive he was. When she’d first met him she’d thought the white-blond hair utterly bizarre, but it went perfectly with his pale skin and ice blue eyes. His habit of wearing all black made him look more like a rock star than a best selling horror novelist. And the accent! What was it about British guys and that oh so sexy accent? Nikki sighed. Too bad he wasn’t interested. She put her mind back on business.

“Promise me you’ll come back when the next book comes out? We always do killer business when you’re here.”

William grinned. “You know you’re always first on my list. Later, love.”

A peck on the cheek and he was gone, leather duster swirling around him. Nikki sighed again. Damn, that man was sexy.

William walked through the nearly deserted parking lot. As he walked, his mind wandered to the next scene for his book. Stuck for a solution to a plot problem with one of his characters, he didn’t hear the oncoming car until it was almost on top of him. Looking up, he just had time to see the silver grill of the car as it slammed into him, hurtling him onto the hood of a nearby car.

* * *

When William woke, he found himself lying on an uncomfortable hospital bed. He tried to sit up and groaned at the sudden pain in his ribs.

“Hey you. Welcome back.”

William grinned wanly at the petite blonde sitting by his bed. “Hey Buffy. What happened?”

Buffy sniffed back a sob. “You decided to play chicken with a car. You lost. Do you remember anything?”

William tried to ignore the pounding in his head. He thought hard but finally shook his head. “Nah. I was walking along and all of a sudden, bam. I think the car was black but I’m not even sure about that.” He shifted then winced again at the pain. “How bad is it?”

Buffy gave him a watery smile. “They say you’re really lucky. You could have been killed. As it is, you have cracked ribs and too many bruises to count. Oh, and you have a nasty concussion from your crash landing on a Toyota. The doc says you got off light.”

William snorted. Light? Everything he had hurt. He was about to reply when the door opened and a pretty redheaded woman entered followed closely by a young man with green hair.

“Willow. Oz. What are you doing here?”

Willow hugged him carefully, mindful of all the bandages. When she pulled back he could see the gleam of tears in her eyes. “Where else would we be?” She smoothed his covers for him and managed a weak smile. “You know, there are better ways of getting attention, Blondie.”

“Less painful, too,” Oz replied as he took Willow’s hand in his. “You ok?”

William nodded. He let Buffy give the newcomers a rundown of his injuries-he was too tired to talk. He was just drifting off when he felt a presence over him. He opened his eyes to see Buffy bending to kiss his cheek.

“Get some sleep. We’ll be right outside.”

William was asleep before the trio had left the room.

* * *

When he woke the second time, it was to find bright sunlight streaming through the hospital window and a pretty nurse checking his pulse. She smiled brightly when she saw that her patient was awake.

“Nice to see you’re awake, Mr. Reed. Hungry?”

William’s stomach answered for him in the form of a very audible growl. The nurse chuckled as she left and went to order him a breakfast tray. William was just finishing his meal when the doctor entered, followed by Buffy, Willow, and Oz.

“Hello, Mr. Reed. I’m Dr. Walsh. You probably don’t remember me; you were pretty out of it when I checked on you last night.” The doctor thoroughly checked William over. “Everything looks good. You’re ribs are going to be tender for a few days. Your CT scan came back fine so I don’t see any reason to keep you another night. I’ll go work on your discharge papers.”

“Thank God,” William said with genuine relief. He hated hospitals. He looked up to find his friends watching him, serious expressions on their faces. “What?”

Buffy looked anxiously at Willow and Oz then said, “We’re worried about you, Will. What if this wasn’t an accident? The police were here. They wouldn’t say much but it doesn’t look as if the driver even tried to stop.”

“Come on, Buff. Hit-and-runs happen sometimes. Doesn’t mean it was deliberate.”

Oz spoke up. “Yeah, but with the letters...”

William winced. He’d been getting some increasingly nasty letters the last few weeks. “You can’t think this is connected.”

“I’d rather be safe instead of sorry,” Willow said.

“The police...” Buffy said but William cut her off.

“No police. I don’t need the paparazzi camped outside my door.” William was adamant.

“Ok. I’ll ask around. Discreetly,” Buffy said when she saw William’s look. “I’ll find a private investigator to look into this.”

William sighed. “Fine. In the meantime, let’s get the hell out of here.”


	2. Chapter 2

The next afternoon, William and Buffy found themselves outside an office complex in the heart of downtown L.A.

“This it?” William asked.

Buffy checked the piece of paper in her hand. “Yep. I got the name from Marion. She used them to follow her husband during her last divorce.”

Marion was William’s publicist; a sweet lady but she had crap taste in men.

“Following scum bag husbands is one thing. Are you sure they can handle something like this?”

“I checked around. Angel Investigations has a solid reputation. They even work with the L.A.P.D now and again.”

“Fine. Let’s get this over with.” William hated the idea of strangers poking around in his life.

They entered the reception area and were greeted by a mousy slip of a girl. Her nameplate read ‘Winifred Burkle’. She smiled shyly at them.

“Hello. Can I help you?”

“Hi. I’m Buffy Summers and this is William Reed. We have an appointment with a Ms. Chase.”

“Of course. Cordelia is expecting you. Follow me, please.”

She led them to a beautifully furnished office. “Cordelia, this is Ms. Summers and Mr. Reed.”

The brunette behind the desk was a stunner. She looked more like a runway model than a P.I. She came around the desk and shook hands.

“Please call me Cordelia. We’re pretty informal around here.” She grabbed a notepad and pen. “We’re going to be using the conference room down the hall.”

As they walked, Cordelia gave them some background on the agency. “The agency is owned by Liam McLoughlin. Besides Liam and myself, there are two other investigators-Charles Gunn and Wesley Wyndham-Pryce.”

Cordelia led them into the conference room where two men were already waiting, a young black man dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and a slightly older man in tan slacks and a light blue shirt. The younger man stepped forward to shake hands.

“Name’s Gunn. Nice to meet you.”

“And I’m Wesley Wyndham-Pryce. It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Reed. I’ve read your work.”

“Thanks. And it’s William. This is my friend Buffy.”

Just then the door opened and William wondered if being gorgeous was a pre-requisite in this place. Eyes the color of rich chocolate, beautiful full lips, broad shoulders, and narrow waist. The man’s clothes were simple and understated and just added to the package.

“Sorry I’m late.”

The deep voice was a perfect complement to the rest of him. William hoped he wasn’t drooling.

“We haven’t even started yet, Liam.” Cordelia performed quick introductions and the group took seats around the table.

Liam leaned back in his chair and looked at William. “So, Fred says you think you might have a stalker?”

William was confused for a minute until he realized that Liam must be talking about the mousy secretary. He shrugged. “Don’t know for sure. I’ve been getting nasty letters for a few weeks now. I didn’t think much of it. I’ve gotten hate mail before.”

Buffy shot him a dirty look. She couldn’t believe he was still shrugging this off. She reached over and pinched his arm, hard. He winced and glared at her. Liam watched them, frowning at the little exchange.

Buffy spoke up. “This is different and you know it,” she said to William.

“Different how?” Cordelia asked.

“William doesn’t generally get a lot of hate mail. What he does get is usually people griping about the violence in his stories. He writes about vampires, werewolves, and stuff. What do people expect? Anyway, these aren’t like that. These are…personal.” She shot an apologetic look at William.

Liam caught the look and was puzzled. “Personal? What do you mean by that?”

William reached over and took one of Buffy’s hands. She gave him a little smile and he took over the story.

“These letters are pretty cruel. They don’t reference my books but attack me personally along with my lifestyle.”

“Lifestyle?” Gunn asked.

“I’m gay.” William said it without flinching or looking away. He’d long ago learned that there was no way to predict how any one person would react when they found out about his sexual orientation.

“Out of the closet?”

Cordelia’s matter of fact question made William smile.

“I’m not really sure how to answer that. I never talk about my personal life in interviews but I don’t hide either. I date and I’m not shy about it.”

“So, the fact that you’re gay isn’t a secret but it’s probably not well known outside of your friends and family.” Wesly said.

“Exactly.”

“And these letters make reference to your sexual preferences?” Wesly asked.

William’s jaw hardened, the only sign of his anger. “Yeah. Call me a faggot. Go on and on about how the world would be a better place without people like me in it. The same shit I’m sure just about every gay person has had to hear at one time or another.”

“What makes you think that the letters and the hit-and-run are connected? Writing letters is one thing running someone over deliberately is a whole other ballgame.” Gunn wanted to know.

“I don’t know that they are, mate. But Buffy is worried, so…” he shrugged.

“I assume the police were called to the scene of the car accident?” Wesley asked.

“Of course,” Buffy said. “But we didn’t say anything about the letters.”

“Why not?” Cordelia asked.

“Nothing they can do. Its just letters,” William said.

They talked briefly about what William could remember about the accident. Unfortunately, that was still next to nothing.

“Do you have any of the letters?” Liam asked.

William started. It was the first time Liam had spoken to him since William had made his little announcement. The brown eyes staring at him revealed nothing of what Liam was thinking. William sighed.

“Yeah. In my office at home.”

”We should have copies of them. Could I pick them up tomorrow?”

“I’ve got some things going on that I can’t get out of. I should be home around 5:00,” William said.

“That’ll be fine.”

“Well, I think we have enough to get started.” Cordelia said.

Liam walked William and Buffy out. At the door, she turned to him, “Thank you.”

Liam smiled. “Wait and thank me when this is over.”

When Liam got back to the conference room, the gang was going over their notes.

“Not much to go on here, Boss Man,” Gunn said then grinned when Liam rolled his eyes at the nickname.

“We need to get a copy of the accident report. See what the responding officers thought. Can you do that?”

“Sure thing,” Gunn said. Being an ex-cop came in handy.

“Good. Wes, I need you and Fred to start going through William’s financial statement. See if anything strange jumps out at you. Cordy,…”

“Meanwhile, I’ll see what I can find out about William and his friends.” Cordy interrupted.

The gang headed out to start on their tasks. Cordy made it as far as the door. She turned to see Liam staring out the window. She closed the door and went to sit next to him.

“What, Cordy?”

“Don’t give me that tone, mister.”

Liam turned to her and sighed. Sometimes, working with your best friend was a real pain in the ass. “There’s no tone, Cordy.”

“Yes, there was a tone but we’ll let it go. I saw you watching him.”

Liam rolled his eyes. “I was taking notes and paying attention to my client.”

“No, you were staring at him like God had just handed you everything you were ever looking for.”

Liam stood up and began to pace. “I just can’t win with you. You’re always telling me I should start dating again.”

“And you should! But he’s a client, Liam. I know you. You’ll want to save him, be the big hero. That’s a bad basis for a relationship.”

“I’m not looking for a relationship, Cordy. Not now and maybe not ever. “

Cordy stood and went to wrap Liam in a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

“Don’t say that, Liam. You’re too great a guy to take yourself off the market completely. But I don’t want to see you hurt again.”

“I’m not going to get hurt. William is a client. That’s it. End of story.”

Cordelia hugged him tighter, not at all convinced by his words.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, the four P.I.’s met in Liam’s office. After everyone had grabbed coffee and doughnuts and found a seat, Liam turned to Gunn.

“Did you learn anything new about William’s accident?”

“Talked to the responding officers, but I got zip. There were no eyewitnesses and William doesn’t remember anything. The cops will do what they can but it looks like a dead end. I’m going to head out to the mall myself. See if I can find out anything useful.”

“Sounds good,” Liam said. “Wes? Cordy?”

“Fred and I scoured William’s financial records,” Wesley said. “Nothing unusual there. We’re going to dig a little deeper just to be certain, but I don’t believe that money is going to be a motive here.”

Cordy leaned back in her chair. “Ok. Background on our principles. William Reed was born in England. Moved to Sunnydale when he was16. His parents were killed in a plane crash and his uncle, Rupert Giles, took him in. Mr. Giles was the Sunnydale librarian. When William moved in with him, he was engaged to Joyce Summers. They eventually married and now run an antique shop in Sunnydale. Very successfully, I might add. Joyce Summers is the mother of Buffy Summers. Far as I can tell, Buffy doesn’t work. Her father died a few years ago and left her very well off. She helps her mom and stepfather in the shop when she’s in Sunnydale and she’s taking a few business classes at UCLA. From what I can tell, William likes his privacy. He has a very small group of friends and those are from his high school days. Willow Rosenberg is a computer genius with her own business. Daniel ‘Oz’ Osbourne plays guitar for a band called, get this, Dingoes Ate My Baby. Anyway, they are something of a indie hit, I guess. They are working on their first album.”

She paused and found the men watching her. Liam shook his head and Gunn grinned at her.

“That’s my girl.”

She blew him a kiss and continued, “What can I say. The computer is my friend. And if people knew how easy it was…” she saw three identical looks of exasperation. “I’m just saying. Anyway, there was a group of five kids that hung out together. All born and raised in Sunnydale. When William moved in with her soon-to-be-stepfather, Buffy’s group pretty much adopted him. Alexander ‘Xander’ Harris and Anya Jenkins rounded out the group. They were engaged and planning to marry after college graduation. Two weeks before the wedding, they were out running errands when the brakes on Xander’s car failed. He hit a guardrail and ended up in the ocean. Neither one survived.”

“Ouch,” Gunn winced.

“You said it. All of them went to college at Sunnydale U. I called the dean there and she remembered them. According to her, they were all pretty much joined at the hip.”

“Any other romances within the group? Anything that might be a reason to resent William now?” Liam asked.

“Willow and Oz are together but they’ve been a couple since high school. I’m going to do some more digging just to be sure. They’re all pretty successful in their chosen fields so money doesn’t seem to be an issue between them.”

“What about romances now?” Wesley asked.

“Good question. Anybody hooking up with a friend’s ex honey?” Gunn asked.

“Nope. William is unattached and has been for a while. Buffy is dating Riley Finn, a soldier in the army. He’s currently stationed in some unpronounceable country that I’ve never heard of.”

Liam nodded. “That’s a great start. I went to the bookstore where William had his signing. I talked to the manager. Asked her if anything strange had happened. She said she didn’t notice anything, but admitted she was extremely busy and didn’t actually see much of William. This afternoon I’m going to pick up the letters from William. They might give us some idea what kind of person we’re dealing with here. Guess that’s it for now.”

The four parted company and headed off for their respective assignments.

* * *

When William got home that afternoon, he was exhausted. He’d done too much too soon and his battered body was letting him know it. He’d had a meeting with his publicist, then gone to a luncheon for upcoming writers where he was the guest speaker. William hated to let anyone down and he was paying for it now. He grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge and a bottle of pain pills from the counter.

“’Do not take with alcohol.’ Doctors. What do they know?”

He swallowed one of the pills with a generous swig of beer. He checked his watch and realized he had time for a long soak in the Jacuzzi before Liam arrived. He headed for the bathroom and started the water. While the tub filled he shed his clothes, but then noticed that is beer was almost gone. He hurried to the kitchen and grabbed a second beer. When he got back to the bathroom, the tub was full and he sank into it with a grateful sigh. He leaned against the back of the tub and closed his eyes, moving occasionally to take a sip of beer. The hot water, pain pills, and alcohol were making him drowsy. He started to doze off.

Later, he could never say for sure what woke him. Some sound, maybe, that seemed off. All he knew was that one minute he was half asleep and the next his eyes flew open just in time to see black-clad hands reaching for him. Hands grabbed his shoulders and pushed his head under water. He tried to get a grip on the hands holding him down, but the water made it impossible. He struggled frantically, desperate for air. His attacker was relentless and the iron grip on his shoulders never loosened. His vision grayed and William’s hands slid slowly from his attacker’s wrists. His eyes closed and the world went black.

* * *

He came to find himself kneeling on the bathroom floor, heaving what seemed like gallons of water from his lungs. When the retching eased, he realized a small hand was rubbing his back. Buffy knelt beside him, crying quietly.

“Buffy?” his voice sounded strange, raspy.

“God, Will. I came over to check on you and met Liam in the lobby. We came up to see you and found you…” her voice shook and fresh sobs racked her body.

Liam entered the bathroom. “There’s no one here. I checked every room. We must have scared off whoever it was.” His dark eyes glanced at William then slid away.

William suddenly realized he was naked. He blushed furiously. Yeah, this was definitely the way to make an impression; bare assed naked, said ass stuck in the air while he heaved his guts out. Wonderful. He tried to stand and was embarrassed to find that his knees were shaking too badly. Liam grabbed a towel and draped it over him. With the bigger man’s assistance, William was able to get to his feet. Walking slowly, they made it out to the living room where William collapsed onto the sofa.

“William, do you remember what happened?” Liam asked.

“Not really. I got home and took my pain pills. I grabbed a beer and decided to have a bath. I must have dozed off or something because the next thing I remember is hands pushing me underwater.”

Buffy grabbed William’s hand. She stroked his arm, unwilling not to have any contact with him. Liam’s jaw clenched and he turned away.

William shuddered. Such a close call. If Liam and Buffy hadn’t shown up, he’d be dead now. William had been able to shrug off the letters and he’d been able to convince himself that the hit-and-run was just an accident, but he couldn’t lie to himself about this. Someone really was trying to kill him.

Liam saw William’s face go white. He moved to the couch and laid a hand on William’s shoulder. “It’s ok. It’s over now. Why don’t you go get dressed? I’m going to call Gunn and get detective over here. Maybe this time there’ll be some evidence.”

William headed for his bedroom to dress. Liam’s words rang in his mind, but William knew the investigator was wrong. It wasn’t over. It was just beginning.


	4. Chapter 4

Two hours later William sat on the couch, feeling more drained than he ever had in his life. A crime scene unit had come and gone, taking samples and collecting anything they thought unusual. Gunn had arrived at the same time as a pretty blonde detective he introduced as Kate Lockley. Detective Lockley had taken a statement from him and then she, Liam, and Gunn had done a walk through of the apartment. She’d left after promising to let Liam know if the CSU came up with anything useful. Gunn and Liam came over and took chairs across from William.

“Kate’s promised to keep this as quiet as she can for as long as she can,” Liam said. “Considering your celebrity status, though, that probably won’t be as long as you’d like.”

William sighed. “Great. Did you find out how he got inside?”

Liam and Gunn exchanged looks. Gunn finally answered him. “There’s a back entrance to the building, where the trash dumpsters sit. The lock was picked and your guy came up the back stairs. He got into your apartment through the kitchen entrance.”

“Christ. I need some coffee.” William ran a shaky hand through his hair. “You guys want some?”

“Sure. Thanks, William.” Liam really didn’t want anything but he wanted a chance to talk to Gunn alone.

William headed for the kitchen. When he was out of earshot, Liam turned to Gunn. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“If you’re thinking inside job, hell yeah. The back stairs are the only ones with no cameras. The kitchen door wasn’t forced so someone used a key. We’re gonna have to tell him that.”

Liam sighed. “I know.”

William came back with the coffee. He sat back down on the couch and faced Liam. “So, you gonna tell me what that look was for earlier?”

Liam smiled a little. “Caught that, did you? William, the kitchen door wasn’t forced. That means that whoever got in here used a key. We’re going to need a list of people who have keys for your apartment.”

William paled. “Are you saying that someone I _know_ did this?”

Liam didn’t say anything and William cursed. “Fine. Off the top of my head, I can tell you for sure that Buffy has a key to my place. She takes care of it when I’m out of town. And Marion, my publicist has one. If Buffy goes on a book tour with me, then Marion looks after my place.”

“Is that everyone?”

“That’s who I’ve given keys to.”

Gunn said, “I’ll talk with Buffy and Marion tomorrow.”

William frowned. “Oh Hell. I just realized that Buffy isn’t here anymore. Where is she?”

“It’s ok. You’ve had a lot on your mind tonight. She was understandably upset so I called Willow for her. Neither one of them could be allowed inside while the crime scene guys were in here so I sent them home. Buffy said she’d call you tomorrow,” Liam said.

“Thanks, mate. I love her but I really don’t think I could deal with her smothering me right now.” William saw Liam’s frown and misinterpreted it. “Not smother as in kill. Christ, I hate watching everything I say. Buffy’s just protective of me. She’s like four months older than I am so she’s always appointed herself my ‘big’ sister.”

Gunn had noticed Liam’s look as well. He really hoped it didn’t mean what he thought it meant. He realized William was asking a question and turned his attention away from his boss.

“Do you think the guy will be back?”

Liam shook his head. “Not tonight. The element of surprise is gone.”

“’Not tonight’? So you think that he will be back?”

“Don’t you? He’s tried to kill you twice in two days. I don’t think he’s satisfied with just sending letters anymore. A friend of mine owns a security company. I called him and he’ll be here tomorrow to change your locks.” Liam paused and William had an idea he wasn’t going to like what the detective said next. He didn’t. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be alone. From now on, either Gunn or myself will be with you until we get this bastard.”

William bristled. His voice vibrating with anger, he said, “Well that’s just bloody wonderful. Twenty-six years old and the man thinks I need a soddin’ babysitter.”

He stormed into the kitchen. Seconds later, the men could hear the sounds of cupboards banging. Liam winced. Gunn shot Liam a look.

“You’re taking first watch, right? So he’ll be all nice and calm when it’s my turn?”

“Coward.”

Gunn laughed. “Nah, Boss Man. Just smart.” He paused, unsure if he should say anything. He sighed. If Liam got hurt, Cordy would have his balls. “Look, man, do you think this is a good idea?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play stupid with me. I saw the way you look at him. I also saw the way you look at Buffy when she gets too close to him. You’ve got to get your shit together. This is so not smart. He’s a client.”

“Jesus Christ, Gunn. Have you been talking to Cordy?”

“No, but I’m not blind. What did Cordy say?”

“That I should keep my distance. To remember that he’s a client. She may have mentioned something about a hero complex.”

Gunn grinned. “Yeah, well, my girl’s as smart as she is gorgeous.”

“What exactly do you two have against me wanting to help someone?”

“Nothing. There ain’t anything wrong with being a hero, man. Everyone needs one. But if that’s the only reason you’re getting the warm fuzzies for the writer, then that’s bad. Because once this case is over and he doesn’t need saving anymore…what’ll you have then?”

Liam nodded once to show he understand the validity of Gunn’s question, then he grinned. “Warm fuzzies?”

Gunn shrugged. “Cordy rubs off on me.”

“Go home, Gunn. Get some sleep. When you come by tomorrow, we’ll get some sort of schedule worked out.”

Liam locked up after Gunn and went to the kitchen. William was sitting at the kitchen table, head in his hands. He looked up when Liam entered the room.

“Sorry about the temper tantrum, mate. Maybe I do need a babysitter.”

Liam smiled and took a chair across from William. “There’s nothing to apologize for. You’ve nearly been killed, twice. You’ve had strangers in and out of here for hours, invading your privacy, and now you find out that they’re not leaving any time soon.”

“Still, I hired you for this. Can’t complain about your methods, can I?” He sighed. “I’m going to take another pain pill and go to bed. It’s been a bitch of a day. Do you mind?”

“Of course not. I’m not a guest, I don’t need to be entertained. Go to bed, Will.”

It was the first time Liam had called him that and it made William shiver. He shook his head. Now was not the time to rediscover his libido. The detective probably thought he was pathetic; poor little nancy-boy writer can’t take of himself. He grimaced.

“You know where the kitchen is. Help yourself to food or whatever. The remote for the TV is on the table next to the sofa or there are plenty of books to read. Good night,” his tone was curt.

Liam wondered at the tone but chalked it up to William still being upset at having unwanted houseguests. “Thanks.”

William turned to leave but he couldn’t stop himself from pausing in the hallway. “Liam?” He waited until the man had turned to him then gave him a rueful grin. “Thanks. I’m sorry to have been such a pain in your arse.”

Liam smiled. “It’s ok. I’ve had bigger pains.” William laughed and Liam said, “Good night, Will. Sleep well.”

William went to his room and softly closed the door. He stripped and crawled into bed. He stared at the ceiling, Liam’s smile fresh in his mind. God, the man was devastating when he smiled. William sighed. He was so screwed.


	5. Chapter 5

Over the next few days, things settled into something of a routine. Gunn arrived after breakfast and stayed with William during the day. William was working on his next book so more often than not he’d hole up in his study for a few hours. Near lunchtime, he’d take a break and the two of them would go for a walk or run errands. After lunch, William would head back to his study. Liam arrived right around dinnertime. Gunn would head home and William would cook dinner. Liam would make a token protest about William not having to go to any trouble and William would shrug it off. He liked to cook, but it was no fun for just one person. Besides, he really liked cooking for Liam, liked the easy conversations between them. They never seemed to run out of things to talk about.

Tonight they’d eaten dinner and Liam had helped clean up the kitchen. His cell phone had rung and he’d headed into the living room. William finished loading the dishwasher then grabbed two beers and followed him. Liam was just finishing his phone call. He took the proffered beer with a grateful smile.

“Thanks. It’s been a long day.”

“Want to put in a movie?”

“Sure. You want to choose?”

“Nah, you go ahead.”

Liam wandered over to the entertainment center and began looking through William’s movies. He pulled one out at random. William saw the box and grinned.

“Good choice. That’s a classic!”

Liam read the back of the box then shot a skeptical look at William. “An escaped mental patient that terrorizes baby sitters is a classic?”

“Oh come on! ‘Halloween’ has got to be the best horror movie ever made.”

Liam shook his head. “How can you watch this crap?”

William arched a brow. “I write that _crap_ for a living, mate.”

Liam had the grace to look sheepish. “Sorry. I just don’t understand why people like this stuff. I see too much of that kind of thing on a daily basis.”

William thought about that for a minute. “I suppose you do, Liam, but the average person doesn’t. It’s fun to be scared, to have that adrenaline rush while knowing that you’re perfectly safe. And good always wins in the end, which isn’t always true in real life.”

Liam had been looking over the rest of William’s movies. “Good always wins, huh? Then why do these movies all have roman numerals after them?”

“Because that’s the nature of evil. It can be slowed down for awhile but it never dies.” William shivered then chuckled. “Creepin’ myself out here. How about some popcorn to go with the movie?”

William made the popcorn while Liam grabbed fresh beers. They settled comfortably on the couch, the bowl of popcorn between them. Liam found himself pleasantly surprised by the movie. It was suspenseful, scary, and not too gross. He actually jumped at one point and William snickered. Liam shot him a dirty look and William snickered again. Liam grinned and turned his attention back to the movie.

He wasn’t sure what exactly drew his attention but he found himself watching William out of the corner of his eye. His gaze was drawn to William’s hands; elegant and slim they were the hands of an artist. He imagined those hands running over his flesh and bit back a groan. He shifted uncomfortably on the couch, arousal making his slacks suddenly feel way too tight. Then William lifted the beer bottle to his lips and took a long drink, throat muscles working as he swallowed. There was no stopping the groan this time.

“Liam? Something wrong?”

Liam turned to see concerned blue eyes watching him. Without a word, Liam took the bottle from William and placed their drinks on the coffee table. He turned back to William and reached out to run a hand along the lean jaw then further back until his hand was cupping William’s neck. Slowly he pulled William forward until their lips met.

That first touch opened the floodgates and suddenly they were frantic for more. Liam slid his tongue along William’s bottom lip, moaning softly when William’s mouth parted eagerly to allow him access. Liam’s tongue explored, learning the taste and texture of William’s mouth. They parted reluctantly, both gasping for much needed air. They dived back into the kiss, unwilling to be separated for long. Liam slid his hands under William’s shirt, enjoying the feel of his warm flesh. He brushed his fingers across William’s nipples, eliciting a low groan from the younger man. Liam sat back and pulled William over until he was straddling Liam’s lap.

William gasped at the feel of Liam’s erection brushing against his ass. Liam’s hands seemed to be everywhere, stroking over his nipples, sweeping along his sides, and down over his butt before coming back up to play with sensitive nipples some more. William leaned back and pulled his shirt over his head. Liam immediately bent forward to flick a hard nipple with his tongue.

“Liam.” The name was a breathless moan.

Desperate to feel Liam’s naked skin against his own, William quickly unbuttoned Liam’s shirt and slid it from his shoulders. Beautiful. William had known he would be. He ran his hands along the perfect skin, delighting at the shift of muscle under his hands.

Liam pulled William down for another kiss. He couldn’t seem to get enough of that mouth. William tasted every bit as good as Liam had imagined. He grabbed William’s hips and thrust his own up, grinding his hard cock into William’s ass.

“Liam, please.”

Liam began to rock his hips, rubbing himself the place he most wanted to be. It took him several moments to register the ringing of the phone.

“Will.”

“Ignore it.”

Liam sighed and gave William another kiss. “We can’t. It could be important.”

William groaned in disappointment, but got off of Liam and went to answer the phone. Liam watched as William’s face paled. He was off the couch and at William’s side within seconds.

“What is it?”

“It’s the security officer from the parking garage. Someone trashed my car.”

* * *

William stared at the wreckage of what had once been an automobile. It was almost unrecognizable, all the windows had been smashed and there were dents in almost every available surface. He turned to Liam.

“I don’t understand this. Why trash my car?”

“Rage. You’ve been at home for four days now. Your stalker has physically attacked you twice but now he can’t get at you.”

“Is that good or bad?”

Liam smiled a little at William’s wry tone. “Could be good. If he’s angry enough he’ll forget to be cautious. He starts making careless mistakes and we have him.”

“Well hooray for pissing him off then,” William said sarcastically.

William watched the blonde detective from earlier as she questioned the security guard. When she was finished, she joined him and Liam.

“Once again, we’ve got nothing. The guard makes rounds every hour, but he never saw or heard a thing. The parking garage is just too big,” Kate said.

Liam was frustrated. Whoever the stalker was, he was damn smart. Not a single piece of evidence had been left at any of the attacks. He thanked Kate and then he and William walked back to William’s place.

“I need a drink,” William announced. He headed for the kitchen and Liam sank down on the couch.

An hour ago, he and William had been making out on this couch like a couple of horny teenagers. He shook his head ruefully. He still wasn’t sure if he was grateful for the interruption or not. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d lost his head like that. Oh wait. Yes he could. And he could definitely remember the way that had ended.

William came back with two glasses of whiskey. He handed one to Liam then sat down next to him. He studied Liam quietly for a minute. “Quit brooding.”

Liam shot him a look. “You think I’m brooding?”

“Yep. I can see it from here. I even know what you’re brooding about. You’re thinking that what happened between us tonight was a mistake. That the timing is all wrong and that even though I’m the sexiest thing you ever saw, I’m a client. Does that about cover it?”

Liam laughed, grateful to William for lightening the mood. “Are you a mind reader?”

“Nah. I’ve just had some of those same thoughts myself. I guess what it comes down to, for me anyway, is I haven’t felt like this about anyone in a long time. I like you, like being around you, like talking to you. If I met you at a party, I’d ask you out. These feelings have nothing to do with the case. It doesn’t matter to me how we met.”

“I haven’t felt like this for a long time either. A week ago, I didn’t even know you and now...” he trailed off. He wasn’t comfortable talking like this, never had been.

William moved over and raised Liam’s head until they were eye to eye. “I want this with you. I want to give it a chance, see where it goes. But I can wait if you need to, wait until all this craziness is over. I can wait until you’re sure. It’s up to you,” he brushed a light kiss to Liam’s mouth before standing up. He headed to his bedroom, leaving Liam alone with his thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

Liam spent several restless hours in William’s living room before finally calling Gunn and asking the other man to come over to William’s early. Cowardly, maybe, but he didn’t want to be in the apartment when William woke up. He needed time to think.

When Liam got to his place he showered then ate a quick breakfast. Sleep was impossible so he headed for the office. He’d been hard at work for several hours before Cordelia arrived. She poked her head into his office.

“You’re in early.”

“Just going over William’s case.”

Cordelia came in and took a seat across from Liam’s desk. Liam quickly filled her in on the events from the night before.

“My God. Poor William.”

“Yeah. Hey, Cordy, how come I can’t find an interview with Will’s publicist? I’ve gone through his case file and there’s nothing there. Gunn was going to talk to her about the break-in at Will’s apartment.”

“He tried but she was out of town. He was going to put a note in the file and follow up when she got back.”

“Oh, wait. Here it is. Looks like she got back yesterday. I’m going to see if I can track her down. Also, Gunn mentioned that he talked to Buffy, but we didn’t have time to get into it. What’d he find out?”

“Nothing useful. She has a key to William’s apartment, but she hardly uses it. She carries it on her key ring with her other keys so there really isn’t much of a possibility that someone could have taken it without her knowing about it.”

“I don’t like her,” Liam grumped.

Cordelia grinned. “You don’t like her being all touchy-feely with your writer.”

“He isn’t ‘my’ anything.”

“Not yet, but you want him to be.”

“I thought you were against my getting involved with William.”

“I was not and you know it. I didn’t want to see you get hurt again.” She paused for a minute before continuing. “Gunn likes him. He says he can see the sparks fly when the two of you are in the same room.”

Liam sighed. Did Gunn have to share _everything_ with Cordelia?

“I’m going to be supporto gal here and hope for the best, since it doesn’t look like you and William will be doing the staying away from each other thing. So, have you kissed him yet?”

“Cordy!”

“What? Like we’ve never talked about your boyfriends before? Besides, that man has got the yummiest mouth. I bet he’s a fantastic kisser.”

Liam couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face. Cordelia squealed with delight when she saw it.

“I knew it! Come on, spill. Was it just kissing or was there naughty touching too?”

“Shut up, Cordy.”

There was no heat in the words and Cordelia didn’t take offense. It was too nice to see Liam acting this way; it had been a long time since he’d been like this about another person. She pushed aside her reservations and was determined to hope for the best. Liam deserved this chance. She just hoped nothing screwed it up.

William wasn’t really surprised to find Liam gone when he woke up. To be honest, he was kind of relieved. He’d slept fitfully, horniness not being conducive to a good night’s sleep. He was cranky and irritable and most of all angry with himself. Could he really do what he told Liam? Could he wait until the stalker thing was over to start something with him? He sat in his office, not able to write, not able to do anything but think of the detective. He finally decided that if waiting meant he could have Liam then he’d do it. No matter how hard it was because waiting was preferable to starting something Liam wasn’t ready for and losing him if things got out of hand. Decision made, he felt better than he had all day. He went to find Gunn, hoping the man was in the mood to do some car shopping.

* * *

Liam arrived early for his appointment with William’s publisher. He’d been waiting a few minutes when an attractive young woman came out of the office.

“Mr. McLoughlin? I’m Emily Adams. I’m Marion’s assistant. She’s running a little behind schedule today. Do you have some time to wait or would you rather reschedule?”

“I can wait if you don’t mind. Could I ask you a few questions about her client, William Reed?”

“Oh, of course. Everyone here is just so upset about what’s going on. We all love William.”

“You know him well?”

Emily took the seat next to Liam. “I’ve worked here for three years. William was a client way before that. He’s so sweet. He doesn’t treat people like they’re beneath him, even though he’s so famous. I help William with a lot of his fan mail. You know, sorting it into piles of marriage proposals, autograph requests, women who want to have his babies.” She rolled her eyes but a little grin played at the corners of her mouth.

“Does he get a lot of those?”

“You wouldn’t believe it. For every letter that praises his talent there’s at least three that only care about his bod. It makes me feel kinda bad for him, you know? He’s such a fantastic writer and it just seems so sad that some people only focus on his looks.”

Liam was about to comment when the outer door opened and an older gray haired woman rushed in. Emily immediately went to relieve her of some of the files she was carrying.

“Liam McLoughlin?”

Liam stood and offered the woman his hand. They shook hands then Marion led the way into her office.

“Sorry I’m late. I sometimes wonder if taking a vacation is worth all the hassle you come back to.”

Almost in spite of himself, Liam found himself liking the woman. “How long have you known Will?”  
Marion’s eyebrow raised at the nickname. The only person she knew of who was allowed to call William that was Buffy. She leaned back in her chair and regarded the handsome detective. “I met William when we published his first book. I believe he was just about to turn twenty. That boy has talent coming out of his ears. And he’s just about the sweetest kid I ever met.”

The door opened and Emily came in with coffee. She turned to leave, but Liam stopped her.

“Do you mind staying? You said you open Will’s mail so I’d like to ask you about the letters he’s been receiving.”

Emily sat down and Liam turned back to Marion. “I assume you know about the letters?”

“Of course. They were nasty but we didn’t really think that much of them until William’s hit-and-run.”

“Did you know he was gay?”

“Of course. William’s very honest about who he is. He doesn’t flaunt it, but he doesn’t hide it either.”

Liam noticed Emily’s glare. She saw him looking at her and blushed. “Sorry. It just makes me so mad. In this day and age...I guess it was to be expected, though, what with his new book and everything.”

“What does his new book have to do with it?”

“The main character of his new book is gay. Caused some controversy, but what doesn’t these days?” Marion answered.

“You think the book has something to do with the letters?” Liam asked Emily.

“Well, it would be an odd coincidence, wouldn’t it? William started getting the letters fairly soon after the book came out.”

Liam filed that information away for later. He turned his attention back to Marion. “Did you know that Will’s apartment was broken into?”

“Yes. He called me the day after it happened. I was about to go out of town and he didn’t want me to hear about it on the news.”

“We believe it was an inside job. You have a spare key to Will’s apartment, don’t you?”

“I’ll forgive the tone in your voice, young man, because you’re trying to keep William safe. Yes, I have a key. I keep it at home because I don’t use it that often.”

Liam nodded once in apology. “Do you know if it’s still there? I need to know if it’s missing.”

“I couldn’t say with absolute certainty. I can check and get back to you.”

Liam rose and thanked the women for their time. He gave Emily his business card and Marion promised to call him as soon as she checked on the key. He asked Emily to contact him immediately if William received another letter. He left and headed back to the office, feeling discouraged. It looked like they were right back to square one.


	7. Chapter 7

William was in the kitchen making iced tea when he heard Liam talking to Gunn. He was reaching into the cupboard for another glass when the two detectives came in.

“None for me, William. I’ve got to head out. Got a hot date tonight.”

William grinned. “Got to keep your lady happy.”

“Don’t I know it! See ya tomorrow.”

He left and the atmosphere in the kitchen turned tense. William turned to put the unused glass away, desperate for something to do to stall the talk he was fairly sure Liam was planning on having. Suddenly, hands settled on his waist and he was turned and pushed back against the counter. A warm mouth covered his, and he was lost.

For long, sweet moments Liam explored William’s mouth. He tasted like iced tea and sugar and man. Liam groaned and deepened the kiss. He didn’t pull back until they were both breathless. He smiled at the dazed expression on William’s face positive it was mirrored on his own. He put a hand under William’s chin and tipped William’s head up until he could look into beautiful blue eyes.

“I don’t want to wait, Will. I don’t want to waste a single minute that I could be spending with you.”

“Oh thank God.” William let out a shaky breath. “When did you decide this?”

“About five minutes ago. Being away from you all day was so damn hard. Then I got here, took one look at you, and I just knew that I’d be stupid to let this chance pass me by.”

William grinned happily and pulled Liam down for another kiss. Liam’s hands came down to cup his ass and pull him tightly against Liam’s erection. William groaned. “Ok, so we decided not to wait but what exactly are you ready for? What do you want, Liam?”

“I want you.”

William smiled and the look went straight to Liam’s groin. “I want you, too. I want you naked and hard and all mine. Want you over me, in me, making me writhe, making me moan.”

“Jesus Christ, Will. You’re killing me.”

William smiled again and took Liam’s hand. He began pulling the detective out of the kitchen and towards the bedroom. They froze when the doorbell rang.

“Damn it, what is it with people not wanting me to get shagged lately?” William muttered. Liam laughed and it earned him a dirty look. “Just remember, mate, if I’m not getting any then you’re not getting any.”

Liam sobered. “Let’s see how fast we can get rid of whoever it is.”

William smirked and went to answer the door. He looked out the peephole and was surprised to see Emily. He opened the door. “Em! What’s up?”

She smiled and indicated the box in her arms. “I’ve got books for you to sign. That Internet contest to raise money for the children’s hospital was a huge success.” She set the box down and looked at him.

“How come you’re not ready?”

“Ready for what?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot. I left you a message this morning to remind you.”

William glanced at the phone where the message light was blinking accusingly at him. He turned back to Emily with a sheepish grin. “Remind me again?”

“Charity dinner. At the Marriott. Auction. Raising money for the Pediatric Aids Foundation.” At Will’s blank look, she shook her head. “They’re auctioning off a dinner with you as one of the items.”

“Oh shit. I forgot all about it.”

“Well, you’d better hurry and get ready. Cocktails start in a little less than two hours. You don’t want to be late. This is important.”

He knew that and the charity needed all the money they could get. He thanked Emily and gave her a peck on the cheek. He let her out and closed the door, leaning against it with a groan.

“I take it our plans have changed for the night?” Liam asked.

“Sorry, pet, but this is really important.”

“That’s all right. So, what’s this dinner for?”

“It’s a thing that Wolfram & Hart put on every year. They get a bunch of celebrities together and...” He trailed off, noticing the look on Liam’s face. “Something wrong?”

Liam managed a smile. “Of course not. But Emily’s right. You better get ready. We’ll have to stop by my place so I can change and with traffic...”

“Come on, Liam. Tell me what’s wrong?”

But Liam wouldn’t answer and finally William gave up and went to get dressed. He had a really bad feeling about tonight.

* * *

Liam sat behind the wheel, fingers tapping lightly on the steering wheel. They’d managed to get ready in record time and were only going to be a little late. He really wanted to give the sight of William in a tux the proper attention, but his mind was on other things. Liam was praying that _he_ wouldn’t be there, but knew that was wishful thinking. Unconsciously, his hands tightened on the steering wheel.

William kept glancing at Liam out of the corner of his eye. He hadn’t spoken more than two words since finding out where they were going. They stopped in front of the hotel and Liam gave his keys to the valet. When they entered the ballroom, they began to mingle. The evening actually went well and the dinner with William netted a large sum of money for the charity. After the auction, William made small talk, but his eyes were constantly on Liam. A writing colleague of William’s brought his wife over for an introduction and William had to turn away.

“Liam. I’m surprised to see you here.”

Liam closed his eyes and swallowed hard. Shit. He wiped all expression from his face and turned.

“Hello, Lindsey.”

God, he still looked good. His hair was a little longer and he’d lost some weight, but he was still gorgeous. Those blue eyes that Liam used to get lost in showed nothing as the lawyer calmly stared at his ex-lover.

Lindsey wasn’t one for letting his emotions show. He couldn’t afford to, especially around Liam. He schooled his expression into one of polite boredom. “What brings you here?”

“I’m working. You?”

“The same. Wolfram & Hart sponsors this event every year.”

As if Liam didn’t know that, didn’t know everything there was to know about Lindsey McDonald. Liam was about to answer when he saw something flicker in Lindsey’s eyes. He turned to see William watching them.

“Is he your newest toy?”

Liam turned furiously at Lindsey’s mocking words. “Don’t. You have no right to ask me something like that.” He managed to get a grip on his temper.

Lindsey kept his expression neutral, but his stomach was churning. He’d been watching them all night. He’d seen the way Liam looked at William and vice versa. William was walking towards them, confusion written clearly on his face.   
When he got to them, Liam performed introductions.

William shook hands with Lindsey, his eyes on Liam. The tension was thick and uncomfortable. He was about to say something when a beautiful brunette joined them.

“Liam! It’s been a long time.”

“Hello, Lilah.”

Lilah smiled but William noticed that it didn’t reach her eyes. He wondered just what the hell he’d stumbled into the middle of.

“William, meet Lilah Morgan. She’s a lawyer with Wolfram & Hart,” Liam said. “She’s also married to Lindsey. What’s it been, a year now, Linds?”

Lindsey gritted his teeth, but managed a smile when Lilah threaded her arm through his. “Almost. You should try married life, Liam. It’s fantastic.”

“I’m sure it is. If you’ll excuse me, I think it’s time for William and I to leave. It was nice seeing you again, Lilah. Lindsey.”

Almost before he knew what was happening, they were in the car and on the way to William’s place. William held his tongue until they got inside.

“Just what the bloody hell was that?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t give me that. I’m not stupid and I’m not blind. Why won’t you talk to me?’

“Because it hurts, damn it! Even after all this time, it still hurts.”

Liam stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door. He braced his hands on the sink and bent his head, breathing deeply and trying to get a grip on his emotions.

William stared at the closed door for a minute then gave a resigned sigh. He went and changed his clothes then headed to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of tea. He took it out onto the balcony and sat staring at the stars. Some time later, the glass door opened and Liam came outside. He moved to stand at the edge of the balcony and looked out at the city.

“I love the view from here. The city looks so peaceful from up here,” Liam said. He was quiet for a minute, not sure what he wanted to say. “I grew up in New York. I don’t think I told you that. My Da and I didn’t get along well. Still, I was a dutiful son, played football like he wanted and planned to go to law school because my mother wanted me to. I would have kept on doing exactly what they wanted if it hadn’t been for Darla. I still remember the first time I saw her. God, she was beautiful. Tiny and blonde and perfect. A lot like your Buffy actually. She pursued me, but I was used to that. I wasn’t used to the things she made me feel. She was like a drug and I wanted her so badly. My Da was thrilled because I was finally bringing home a girl. I’m sure he knew, even then, that my tastes didn’t exactly run to the feminine. I finally got up enough nerve to ask her if she wanted to sleep with me. We made love that night and I went home literally walking on air. When I got to school the next day, I went looking for Darla. One of her friends was waiting for me. She’d been elected to tell me that Darla didn’t want to see me anymore. I was frantic, thinking that I’d done something wrong, that I’d hurt her when we’d slept together. Finally, her friend burst out laughing and told me that the only reason that Darla had slept with me was to prove that she could. Apparently, the rumor had gone around school that the ’hunky quarterback’ preferred boys and she wanted to see if she could get me into bed.

William’s heart ached. God, people could be so cruel. He started to get up, but Liam continued his story.

“I made it through the rest of my senior year in a fog. I was just so numb. I graduated and got the hell out of there as fast as I could. I just needed to get away. From my parents, and Darla, and my hometown. I came out here and fell in love with California. I went to school and got my investigator’s license. Met Cordy and long story short, I was enjoying my life. I was getting work from the L.A.P.D and the business was coming along nicely. I dated some, but nothing serious. I ended up working a case where I had to testify in court. That’s how I met Lindsey. He was the prosecuting attorney and I was working for one of his clients. He started calling me after that, asking me out. I always refused. I didn’t want another relationship after Darla. But Lindsey is nothing if not persistent. Finally I agreed to go out with him, thinking that maybe then he’d leave me alone. He didn’t and I didn’t really want him to. I can’t explain it except to say that something about Lindsey drew me to him. He’s so damn confident and that was an powerful aphrodisiac.

We’d been together about six months when I asked him to move in with me. I knew he hadn’t come out yet, but I figured it was just a matter of time. Unfortunately, it didn’t work that way. Lindsey kept stalling on moving our relationship forward and I kept pushing. It was a vicious circle. We’d fight and make up only to do it all over again. Emotionally, I was a wreck, but I stayed with him because I really believed we could work it out.

It all just finally came to a head. We were out to dinner one night and ran into one of the senior partners at Wolfram & Hart. I was angry because Lindsey wouldn’t introduce me as anything other than his friend. We got home and had a huge fight. Finally, Lindsey said that he wouldn’t ever jeopardize his shot at becoming a partner and that being with me would kill his chances. Seems the powers that be at the firm are extremely straight laced. He pretty much gave me an ultimatum; we could go on as we were or not go on at all. I chose the not at all option because I knew he’d be back. He always came back. A week later I saw his wedding announcement in the paper. Lilah’s the daughter of one of the senior partners.”

“Jesus, Liam.” William walked over and wrapped his arms around the bigger man. He could feel the tremors in the powerful body. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m not. Not anymore. Lindsey and I made each other miserable. We just didn’t work. It’s still hard to see him, though.”

“I wish you would have told me. I’d have skipped tonight.”

“Thanks for that.”

They stood quietly for a while then William pulled back. “Let’s go inside, yeah? I’m knackered.” He took Liam’s hand and led him inside. When he moved toward his bedroom, Liam paused.

“Will?”

“It’s nothing like that, pet. I’m so not in the mood it isn’t even funny. When we make love for the first time, I don’t want you thinking of anything but me. I just want to go to sleep and I’d like you with me. Please?”

Liam was too emotionally drained to protest so he followed William into the bedroom. He let William strip him down to his boxers and tuck him into bed. William turned out the lights then stripped and climbed into bed. He slid behind Liam and wrapped an around the broad chest, bringing Liam’s back snug against his front. It was a long time before either one of them found sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Liam woke slowly, disoriented and only vaguely aware that he wasn’t in his own bed. When he remembered where he was, his eyes snapped open to find amused blue ones watching him. He smiled and pulled William to him for a lazy kiss.

“How long have you been awake?” Liam asked sleepily.

“Not long.”

William had woken with Liam wrapped around him. It had been so long since he’d had someone to wake up with that he’d stayed quiet, watching Liam sleep.

“Will? Thanks for last night. It didn’t exactly end the way I wanted it to.”

“’S all right, Liam. It wasn’t the right time. I’m not exactly the hearts and flowers type, but I don’t fancy getting my end away with someone who’s thinking of an old lover. Kind of an ego killer.” He moved closer to Liam, letting his naked erection dig into a silk clad hip. “So, still broodin’?”

Liam groaned and pushed his hips lightly against William. “No brooding, I swear, but I do have a problem.”

William looked at the obvious bulge in Liam’s underwear and snickered, “Yeah, a rather big one I’d say. Want me to help you out with that?”

Liam laughed. “That’s not exactly what I meant. I don’t have a change of clothes and we’re about to make a mess on the only pair of boxers that I have here.”

William gave him a cheeky grin. “Well, why don’t I just get rid of them for you?”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

William sat up and flung back the covers. He took a second to enjoy the sight of Liam’s body clad in nothing but black silk. He shook himself; he could look later, right now he just wanted Liam naked. He hooked his fingers into the waistband of Liam’s shorts and peeled them off. Now free of it’s constraints, Liam’s cock stood full and thick, pre-come making the head gleam wetly. Unable to resist, William leaned forward to lick the glistening tip.

“God, Will, don’t!”

William pulled reluctantly away, crawling up Liam’s body until he could kiss the full lips. “Why’d you stop my fun?”

“This is going to be over too soon as it is.”

Liam rolled them until they were on their sides, facing one another. He put a hand on the small of William’s back and pulled the slim body closer to him. He rocked his hips against William, both men groaning as their erections slid tantalizingly together. Liam bent his head until their lips met, the kiss deepening as their hips moved faster. Liam tugged William’s leg over his hip, bringing their bodies closer together. Their pre-come mixed together, letting their cocks slide easily in the slickness. Liam brought a hand down to gather some of the moisture on his fingers.

William moaned at the feel of Liam’s hand rubbing his sensitive flesh. He groaned in disappointment when Liam’s hand left him, only to gasp in surprised pleasure when a single finger slicked with pre-come slid inside him. When Liam’s finger rubbed his prostate, he bucked his hips sharply into Liam, crying out as his seed splashed against Liam’s hard belly. Moments later he felt an answering wetness against his own stomach as Liam found his release. They lay quietly for long moments, sweat drying lightly on their bodies, breathing gradually returning to normal.

Liam smiled when a wandering hand began creeping over his thigh, heading for his groin. He captured the hand in his and rolled over to pin William beneath him. He kissed William lightly.

“Don’t start something we can’t finish.”

“Who says I can’t finish?” William rubbed his hips provocatively against Liam.

“Gunn will be here in less than an hour. I don’t want to be rushed the first time we make love.” Liam ran his tongue teasingly along the edge of William’s ear before darting the tip of his tongue inside. “I’m going to take my time, explore every inch of this beautiful body.”

William shivered at the husky tone. “Tonight?”

“Tonight.” Liam’s eyes were full of promise.

“Fine, but you better get off me before I’m tempted to try and change your mind.” William pulled Liam down for another kiss. “You can use the shower first, if you want.”

They were dressed and in the kitchen drinking coffee when Gunn arrived. He took one look at Liam’s still wet hair and grinned.

“Good night?”

William laughed and Liam just rolled his eyes. William headed for the counter to pour coffee for Gunn. As he passed Liam, he reached out to squeeze a broad shoulder. Liam brought a hand up to rest on William’s for the briefest moment before William continued on. That small gesture made Gunn realize that whatever was going on between them, it was more than sex. He took his cup and retreated out to the balcony letting the two men have their privacy.

William followed Liam to the door where they indulged in several heated kisses before Liam left with one last ‘tonight’ whispered into William’s ear. William closed the door, a huge grin on his face. He felt like a randy teenager. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had made him feel like this. He went into the kitchen and began cleaning up. As he cleaned, he made plans for the evening. He should cook; Liam really liked that. He could get Gunn to take him shopping, pick up some steaks. They could even eat out on the balcony because Liam really loved the view.

His head shot up; an almost comical look of disbelief on his face. He had no condoms and no lube. Why would he? He hadn’t needed them in...he actually depressed himself when he realized how long it had been since he’d last had sex. It was a damn good thing they’d decided not to do anything last night or they’d have been screwed- or not, actually. He hurried into the living room to grab a pair of shoes.

“Hey Gunn! We need to go out.”

Gunn came in, took one look at William’s face, and groaned.

“I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“Buck up Charlie. If you’re good, I’ll take you to a manly sports bar for lunch and then we’ll go car shopping.” William was still driving a rental that he hated.

“The things I do for my friends.”

* * *

Several hours later they were finally on their way to the grocery store, their last stop. William used his cell phone to call Liam. He exchanged pleasantries with Fred then she transferred him to Liam’s office.

“Hello, pet. What are you doing?”

Liam smiled and leaned back in his chair. “Pet?”

“Everyone I like gets a nickname. Be glad I’m not calling you pumpkin or honey bear or something poofy like that.”

“I’m ever so grateful, Will.”

“Wanker.”

“Do you even speak English?”

“Course I do. Though I’m not sure about you. Anyway, I actually called for a reason. Charlie and me are shopping so I can make dinner. What’s your favorite dessert? ‘Sides me, of course.”

Gunn snorted and William stuck out his tongue. Liam’s amused voice was back and William turned his attention back to the phone.

“Dessert? I’m not really much for sweets. Surprise me?”

“’K. I’ll find something sinful that you can lick off me. I stocked up on necessities. Condoms, several different flavors of lube, so we’re good to go.”

Liam chuckled. “Well, that’s romantic.”

“Love in the new century, pet. Gotta be careful.”

“Wait a minute. Did you make Gunn take you shopping for lube?”

“Well duh. I’m not allowed out by myself now am I?”

Liam heard laughter and looked up to find Cordelia standing in his office doorway. He covered the mouthpiece of the phone and said, “Not only did Will take him shopping for lube, but he’s calling him Charlie.”

Cordelia burst out laughing. William heard her and turned to Gunn with a grin. “Your lady just found out how you’ve spent the day.”

Gunn groaned. “I’m never going to live this down.”

“Don’t be like that, Charlie. Straight men can use lube too. I’m sure the clerk just figured you liked to wank.”

Liam’s rich laughter could be heard over the phone and Gunn gave serious thought to banging his head on the steering wheel. Inwardly, however, he was smiling. William was just too much fun to stay mad at for long.

They pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store just as William hung up the phone. They wandered down the aisles, William throwing things in at random.

“Can I ask you a question?”

Gunn’s eyebrow shot up at the serious tone. “Sure, man, what’s up?”

“I know you weren’t thrilled at the me and Liam thing and I know that was because of Lindsey. He really did a number on Liam, didn’t he?”

“What do you know about Lindsey?” Gunn wasn’t about to go spilling secrets that weren’t his.

William gave him a rundown of what had happened at the auction. Gunn’s jaw tightened and looked ready to kill something. William found himself very glad that he wasn’t the one that had pissed the big man off.

“Christ, man. That rotten bastard. He did a real number on Liam, messed with his head. They’d fight about Lindsey not coming out and Lindsey would move out. A week or two later, he’d start calling Liam and telling him that he was sorry. He’d tell Liam that he missed him and wanted him back, that he was ready to move their relationship forward. Liam would let him move back in and it would start all over again. When Liam read about the engagement in the paper, it damn near killed him. I know he was waiting for Lindsey to call him just like he always had before.”

“I just wanted you to know that I’d never do that. I don’t play games and I would never hurt Liam. I know how you and Cordy feel about him and I thought you should know that.”

“And you should know that if you ever do hurt him, you’ll have Cordelia to deal with and that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”

William grinned and the two finished their shopping, the conversation becoming easy and light once again.

* * *

When Liam arrived at William’s, he found him with Gunn in the kitchen. The two were bantering back and forth as William worked on dinner.

“I can’t believe you killed her,” Gunn was saying.

“I had to. It was unexpected and that’s what made it so perfect.”

“Will, is there something you need to tell me?” Liam asked, amused.

William turned with a grin. “Nah, pet. Gunn just finished one of my books.”

“He killed the hero’s girl. Damn, that was cold.”

“Nah, it was brilliant. Nobody expected it because she’s been around since the beginning of the series. Perfect plot device.”

“Hmm. So, from what I’m hearing the new love in Alex’s life is a guy?”

“Yep. My publishing house went nuts at first, but they gave in when I told them that that was the way the book was going to be written and that if they didn’t want it then I was sure someone else would. My books make too much money for them to do anything rash.”

Liam recalled Marion and Emily telling him about the new book. “Isn’t that the one that just came out?”

“A few weeks ago, yeah. It’s part of a whole series about vampires and a guy that fights them. He’s had the same girl since the first book and I was ready to do something different.”

Gunn chuckled. “Yeah, well making him gay is definitely different.”

William shrugged. “I could have just done a new series with whole new characters, but this one is my favorite.”

They chatted a while longer before Gunn took off. Liam came up behind William and wrapped his arms around him. He nuzzled William’s neck. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

William turned and they kissed, softly at first then with growing arousal. William finally pulled back and smiled softly at Liam.

“Hungry.”

“Starving.”

The blatant arousal in Liam’s gaze sent a shiver up William’s spine. He licked his lips and Liam groaned.

“For food?”

Liam smiled lazily. “For now.”

They ate on the patio, conversation flowing freely. William couldn’t take his eyes off Liam, but that was all right because Liam’s heated gaze never left him either. Occasionally a sock-clad foot would rub across a bare one or their hands would meet when they passed dishes back and forth. The innocent touches just turned the flames up higher. By the time dinner was over, William was hard and aching, desperate to have Liam in his bed.

They cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. William was drying his hands on a dishtowel when Liam came up behind him. He pressed himself tightly against William’s back, letting the other man feel his hardened length pressing into his ass.

“Ready for dessert?” Liam whispered into William’s ear.

William turned and they kissed hungrily. Liam took William’s hand and pulled him to the living room. William was surprised when Liam headed for the couch and not the bedroom. He stopped thinking when Liam sat down on the couch and pulled William into his lap. William straddled Liam’s hips, sinking down slowly until he could rub against Liam’s groin. Mouths met in a bruising kiss as Liam’s hands slid under William’s shirt to pinch hard nipples.

Liam unbuttoned William’s shirt and slid it from his shoulders. He broke the kiss and immediately took a flat nipple into his mouth, laving it gently before biting just hard enough to sting. William cried out and ground his hips into Liam’s. Liam played with William’s nipples for long moments before sliding a hand down to run over William’s denim encased cock. It twitched under his hand and Liam smiled. He undid the snap and pulled the zipper down, sliding his hand inside to encounter bare flesh. William arched into the caress, moaning softly. Liam moved until he had William on his back on the couch with Liam kneeling on the floor between William’s splayed thighs. He slid William’s jeans off, leaving his soon to be lover naked before him. He ran his hands over William’s thighs, felt them tremble at his touch. He leaned forward to run his tongue along the underside of William’s cock. He let the head slide between his lips and began to suck softly.

William gasped and his hips arched up. The feel of Liam’s mouth on him was heaven. He groaned softly when Liam’s tongue slid gently over the tip of his cock. Liam’s mouth was replaced briefly by a stroking hand before warm wetness once again encased his shaft as slick fingers slid over his balls and began to massage his ass.

Liam let William’s cock slide to the back of his throat as he carefully eased a finger into William’s tight body. The man was virgin-tight and it took most of Liam’s self-control not to come just at the thought of sliding his cock into that tight channel. He teased William’s hole gently, letting William get used to the invasion before adding a second finger. He moved his fingers slowly in and out of William’s ass as he increased the suction on William’s cock.

“Jesus Liam. Too much...I can’t...Oh fuck.” William’s eyes closed and his hips bucked as he came hard into Liam’s sucking mouth.

Liam sat back on his heels, watching as William slowly recovered from his orgasm. He let his eyes wander over William’s pale flesh, smiling slightly when William’s spent cock began to stir. He held out a hand and William took it, coming gracefully to his feet. Hand in hand, they walked to the bedroom. William pulled back the covers then turned to help Liam shed his clothes. They kissed softly, hands roaming over naked flesh, Liam’s erection poking into William’s stomach. William trailed a finger over the hard flesh.

“Want you in me.” He reached into the bed table drawer and pulled out a strip of condoms and a bottle of lube.

Liam smiled and nipped William’s bottom lip. He pushed William onto the bed then moved to lay over him. He kissed William, all the while thrusting his cock against William’s. He reached for the lube and coated two fingers on his right hand. He slid his hand under William’s butt, finding him still slightly stretched from their early play. He slid his fingers deep inside, stretching the tight channel.

“Liam, please. Want you so bad.”

Liam pulled away and grabbed a condom, quickly rolling it over his cock before slicking himself generously. He moved to lie between William’s thighs, guiding his cock to William’s entrance. He pushed forward slightly, groaning when the head of his cock breached tight muscles and slid slowly inside. He inched forward, sliding carefully into William’s body.

William groaned and wrapped his legs around Liam’s waist. The slow penetration was killing him so he grabbed Liam’s ass and pulled, thrusting his hips up hard at the same time. He moaned in satisfaction when Liam slid completely into him.

“So much for taking our time.” Liam managed to gasp.

“Next time we can do slow. Wanted to feel you in me.”

Liam buried his head in William’s shoulder with a groan. He’d never had anyone make him lose control just with words, but William was doing a damn good job of it. He started to move, thrusting slowly as he and William found their rhythm. Soon they were moving together, their pace quickening as their desire rose.

William moved his legs from around Liam’s waist and settled them over his ribcage. They both gasped as Liam slid in deeper than before. William reached between them and worked his cock in time with Liam’s thrusts. He clenched his muscles tightly and felt Liam shudder.

“Do that again Will. I’m so close. Want to come inside you.”

William obliged, milking Liam’s cock until the man stiffened above him, coming with hoarse cry that was almost unrecognizable as William’s name. William followed soon after, his second orgasm of the night no less intense than the first.

When Liam could move, he went to the bathroom and disposed of the condom. He headed back to bed, sliding in next to William and pulling up the covers. William turned and draped himself over Liam, one leg resting between Liam’s and an arm flung over Liam’s chest. They murmured softly to one another for a while before falling into an easy peaceful sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

William lay sprawled on his belly on the bed, completely sated. He’d lost track of the number of times he and Liam had made love, although he wasn’t really sure you could call it making love. After the first time, Liam had refused to enter him, saying that he didn’t want to make William too sore. William grinned; that hadn’t stopped the man from using his fingers and a wickedly talented tongue to bring William to orgasm after orgasm.

The bed shifted and a warm body wiggled closer to him. A teasing tongue played at the nape of his neck and long fingers began trailing down his back towards his butt. To his surprise, William felt himself growing hard again. He turned his head to look at Liam’s smiling face.

“Good morning, Will.”

They kissed, a lazy good morning kiss that quickly grew more passionate. Liam let his fingers glide between the cheeks of William’s butt. William was still slick from their earlier play, so Liam let one finger slide slowly inside William’s body.

William moaned softly and pressed back against Liam’s hand.

“Want you inside me.”

“Will...”

“That’s it!” William rolled on top of Liam, straddling his waist. “As much fun as we’ve had, I really want that very nice of dick yours in me. Now! If you won’t do it, I guess I’ll have to do it myself.”

Liam raised an eyebrow, but he made no move to stop William. William leaned over and grabbed a condom and lube from the nightstand. He rolled the condom onto Liam’s erection then added lube with slow measured strokes that made Liam arch up into his hand. William slid back and then sank down slowly, eyes closing in bliss as Liam’s thick cock filled him.

“God, that feels so good,” William sighed.

Liam could only moan in agreement. He took in the gorgeous sight of William riding him; face flushed in pleasure, nipples hard little nubs, hard cock bouncing, thigh muscles flexing as he moved. Liam wrapped a hand around William’s erection and started to pump it in rhythm with William’s movements.

“Mmm, don’t stop doing that.”

William rode Liam at a leisurely pace, in no hurry for their lovemaking to end. Afterwards, Liam slipped out of bed long enough to dispose of the used condom then quickly climbed back in and pulled William to him. They lay quietly together; William sprawled across Liam’s chest while Liam rubbed his back. William noticed the lightening of the sky and sighed.

“I suppose we should get up now. Charlie’ll be here soon.”

“I called Gunn earlier and told him I’d take his shift. He wasn’t too surprised.” Liam said.

William sat up. “You don’t have to leave?”

“Not until tomorrow morning. Is that ok?”

“Ok? That’s bloody fantastic!”

He shot off the bed and began rummaging through his dresser drawers. Liam stared at him, bemused.

“I take it you don’t want to spend the day having mind numbing sex?”

“Nah, we did that all night. Been stuck in this place for days. Charlie’s good about going out with me, but still.” He noticed Liam still lying in bed. “Come on, Liam, move your ass. I want to spend the day with you, like normal people.”

“Are you sure about that?”

William turned to the bed and groaned. Liam lay on his back, sheet pooled at his thighs, one big hand stroking a rapidly growing erection. William’s gaze moved from the bed to the window and back several times.

“Compromise?” William asked. “You can do me in the shower before we leave.”

Liam laughed. “Deal.”

* * *

They spent the day acting like love-struck tourists; they shopped, they visited museums, checked out a couple of art galleries, went to a bookstore so Liam could buy copies of William’s books and have William sign them for him, had lunch at an Italian place that Liam loved. Through it all, they never stopped talking or touching. It felt incredibly good to Liam to be able to walk down the street with his lover and be able to touch his arm or take his hand.

The last rays of the sun were just disappearing when William’s stomach reminded him that lunch had been some hours ago. Liam heard the rumble and grinned.

“Do you want to go home and change so we can somewhere for dinner or would you rather go somewhere more casual?” Liam asked.

“Casual’s good for me, I hate fancy.”

“After we eat, do you mind if we stop at my place? I need another change of clothes, I only brought one last night.

“Fine with me.”

They chose Mexican for dinner and decided to sit outside. The easy camaraderie of the day continued as they drank dark Mexican beer and scooped up salsa with homemade chips while they waited for their entrees.

“Thanks for today, Will.”

Liam sounded so solemn that it puzzled William. “You don’t have to thank me, love, I’m having a great time. ‘Sides, it was my idea.”

Liam shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I know, I’ve just never gotten to spend a day like this before.”

At first, William didn’t understand what Liam meant, but then he remembered the things he’d been told about Lindsey. He realized that the two of them probably hadn’t been able to go out like this. He felt a rush of sympathy for Liam; he couldn’t imagine how difficult it would have been to be in love with someone and have to hide it. He reached across the table and linked his fingers with Liam’s, noting the pleased smile on Liam’s face at the gesture.

The food was excellent and in the end Liam gave in when William insisted they share a bowl of fried ice cream, even though they were both too full to move. After dinner, they retrieved Liam’s car from the parking garage where they’d left it and drove to Liam’s.

William was surprised by Liam’s apartment; it was bright, airy, and utterly devoid of even the smallest personal touches. Liam noticed William’s expression and shrugged.

“I moved after Lindsey and I split up, didn’t want to stay in our place, but this apartment has never felt like home. I spend most of my time at work anyway, so it seems pointless to worry about it.”

William wandered around the place while Liam packed a bag. He was tempted to tell Liam to pack enough for several nights, but he didn’t want to push. William wasn’t sure exactly how this was going to work. He was the first to admit that he tended to be less than cautious with his heart; he didn’t fall easily, but he sometimes he fell too quickly, without weighing the risks to himself. Liam, on the other hand, was bound to be extra cautious given his recent history. William sighed; he’d just have to take it a step at a time and see what happened.

Strong arms came around him and he felt a soft kiss on his neck. He smiled and leaned back into Liam’s embrace.

“You ready to go back to your place or are you up for one last stop?” Liam asked.

“What did you have in mind?”

“Wait and see.”

Liam went back down the hall and returned with a second bag, but he wouldn’t let William see what was in it. They drove to a secluded beach and Liam parked the car. He retrieved the bag from the trunk and they wandered down to the water’s edge. Liam pulled a blanket out of the bag and they sprawled side by side to watch the waves. William pulled off his shoes and socks so he could bury his toes in the warm sand, smiling when Liam followed suit.

“I love coming here this time of night,” Liam said. “It’s just late enough that there’s no one here.”

William grinned at Liam. “Want to go for a swim?”

“I don’t have any trunks.”

William wiggled his eyebrows lasciviously. “Me either.”

He began to strip, laughing when Liam joined him. Hand in hand, they headed into the water. They played in the surf, laughing like a couple of kids. William playfully dunked Liam and started to swim away. Liam reached out and snagged one of William’s ankles. He pulled William to him, smiling when William wrapped his long legs around Liam’s waist. They kissed softly.

“I want to make love with you right here,” Liam whispered, mouth caressing William’s.

“Mmm, yes please.” William nibbled on Liam’s full bottom lip.

“We can’t, I don’t have anything with me.”

“You don’t have anything in the bag?”

“I probably have lotion or something in there, but no condoms.”

“I don’t mind.”

Liam pulled back to look at William. He’d never had unprotected sex before; the few semi-casual relationships he’d had never warranted that kind of trust. With Darla, they’d had to use protection because neither one of them had wanted to be parents, and with Lindsey, well Liam had never really believed that Lindsey was faithful to him during their on again/off again affair.

Liam was quiet for so long that William took his silence as refusal. He tried not to be hurt, acknowledging the fact that they didn’t know each other that well. “It’s ok, Liam, we don’t have to.”

“I want to, Will. There isn’t anything I’d like better than to be buried inside you with nothing between us, but I’ve never done it that way before.”

“Never?” William was actually surprised; even in this day and age, people had unprotected sex all the time.

“Nope. Never been in a relationship where I was willing to take the chance.” He swallowed hard then forced the words out. God, he hated talking; he was so bad it. “This isn’t casual for me, Will. I know that we haven’t known each other that long, but I know that I’ve never felt anything like this before.

The words made William’s chest ache. It did something funny to him to hear that Liam wanted him that much.

“I haven’t been in a serious relationship in almost two years. I can tell you honestly that in all that time I never felt a fraction of what I’m feeling for you. You aren’t alone in this thing, Liam.”

They kissed again, letting the need build to fever pitch. They left the water and fell onto the blanket, hands roaming bare flesh as they kissed with increasing hunger.

“Want you Will.”

William smiled softly and nodded. Liam rummaged through the bag, he’d brought, spilling towels onto the sand in his haste to find something to use as lubricant. With a triumphant smile, he pulled out a small bottle of hand lotion. He quickly slicked his cock then reached between William’s thighs to prepare him. When Liam slid inside, they both shuddered at the feel of nothing but skin on skin. They moved together slowly at first, pace gradually quickening as their passion built.

“God, Will, you feel so amazing. Love being inside you.”

William moaned and arched his hips up, taking Liam deeper. The feel of Liam’s naked cock sliding over his prostate made him shudder. “So good, love, don’t stop. Harder please.”

Liam brought one of William’s legs up and draped it over his shoulder. The new position let him slide into William even deeper than before. They thrust together, breath coming faster, sweat slicking their bodies. Liam thrust one last time, moaning William’s name as he came. William gasped at the feel of warm semen filling him. He sighed in disappointment when he felt Liam’s cock slip from his ass, only to moan ecstatically when Liam’s mouth enveloped his cock. Long moments later, he filled Liam’s mouth with his release, moaning low in his throat when he felt Liam swallow around his shaft.

Liam moved to lie next William. His legs felt rubbery and he was more content than he’d ever been. Eventually, though, the cool breeze was too much on their slick skin. Reluctantly, they toweled off and dressed.

The drive back to William’s was made in companionable silence, each man lost in thoughts of the other. They rode the elevator to William’s floor, and Liam surprised himself by taking William’s hand. He wasn’t much of a hand holder, but he’d been awfully touchy-feely today. He smiled and decided that if William didn’t mind it, then he didn’t either. They got out of the elevator and headed down the hall. Liam stopped when he noticed the small white box in front of William’s door.

Feeling the sudden tenseness in his lover’s body, William asked, “Liam, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t suppose you’ve ordered anything recently?”

“Huh?” He noticed the box and his eyes widened. “Shit, that can’t be good.”

“Stay here.”

Liam went and crouched down by the box.

“Liam, maybe you shouldn’t be touching that.”

Liam knew he should back off and call the police. At the very least, he could be destroying evidence, but he had to know if this was the stalker’s newest sick game. The lid to the box wasn’t tied or taped and Liam carefully lifted it off.

“Christ.”

“What is it?” William came closer and tried to peer around Liam’s shoulder.

“It’s a dead cat. That sick son of a bitch. What the hell kind of message is that?”

He turned and the sight of William’s chalk-white face made him freeze. “What is it, Will?”

William turned glazed eyes to Liam. “Oh fuck, Liam, that’s Willow’s cat.”

Liam began to run towards the elevator, already dialing 911 on his cell phone. “Will, call Gunn and tell him to meet us at Willow’s _now_.”

With shaking hands, William pulled his phone out of his pocket and began to dial.


	10. Chapter 10

They raced towards Willow’s house, William chafing at every delay caused by slow moving traffic.

“I called Kate after I called 911. She’s going to meet the patrol car at Willow’s. It’ll be ok, Will,” Liam said.

“You don’t know that. We don’t have any idea how long that damn box sat there. She could be...” William stopped, unable to finish the sentence.

Liam knew he was right, but he couldn’t let William panic. He reached over to grasp William’s hand.

“Yeah, there’s still no answer. Tried her and Oz’s cell phones, too, but all I got was voice mail.”

They pulled in front of Willow’s house at almost the exact same time as Gunn. The three men got out and met on the sidewalk.

“Help me keep an eye on him,” Liam said to Gunn, voice low.

“That goes without saying, boss man.”

They hurried up the walk, William between them. Kate came out of the house and started towards them.

“Where’s Willow? Is she ok?” William demanded.

“There’s no one here. The responding officers found the front door ajar, but when they went in the place was empty.”

“What does that mean? Is she missing then?” William asked.

Kate shook her head. “We don’t know. There are no signs of a struggle, but that doesn’t mean anything. I’m going to send out officers to canvas the neighborhood, see if anyone saw or heard anything suspicious.”

She left them alone and William turned to Liam, his eyes bright with panic.

“This is crazy,” he said.

Gunn nodded. “I know, man. We’re gonna do whatever we have to do to find her.”

“Will, I’m going to clear it with Kate and then I think you should do a walk through of the   
house. You’re familiar with the place, you might notice if something is missing or out of place,” Liam said.

He was leaving to find Kate when a bright yellow VW Beetle pulled into the driveway.

“It’s Willow,” William said, relieved.

Willow got out of the car, a perplexed look on her face. “William, what’s going on? Is something wrong? Oh God, is it Oz?”

Liam stepped forward and put a soothing hand on her arm. “There was a break in, Willow.   
When the officers checked there was no one here. Do you know where Oz is?”

“Sure. He’s recording today. The band has studio time. He’ll probably be gone most of the night, too.”

“Could you call and make sure he’s there?” Liam asked.

Willow gave him a look, but she pulled out her cell phone. Moments later she was speaking to the band’s manager. She hung up and looked at Liam.

“Oz is fine. Now, are you going to tell me why you’re here?”

“I got a gift from my stalker today,” William answered.

“Oh no, are you ok?”

“I’m fine. Um, Willow I need to tell you something. The gift my stalker left me? It was, well,  
it was your cat.”

“Miss Kitty Fantastico? Why would he...” her confusion gave way to sickening realization and she started to cry.

William pulled her against his chest and held her while she sobbed.

“Can’t wait to get my hands on this sick bastard,” Gunn said.

“You can be second in line,” Liam offered.

Kate had finished giving out assignments and she returned to the group. Liam introduced her to Willow.

“Miss Rosenberg, as soon as the CSU team is finished inside, we’ll need you to go in with an officer and let us know if anything is missing.”

Willow brushed away her tears. “Sure, whatever you need.” She hitched in a shaky breath.   
“Did he do this Buffy, too?”

William looked startled. “What?”

“Did he break into her house, too, or just here?”

William shot a stricken look at Liam. “Jesus, Liam, I never even thought to check on Buffy.”

“What’s the address?” Kate was already pulling out her cell phone. “I’ll send a car over there.”

William gave it to her and Kate made the call.

“I need to go over there, need to make sure she’s ok,” William said to Liam.

Kate heard him and started to shake her head. She caught the look Liam sent her way and sighed. “The two of you can ride with me.”

“I’m coming too,” Willow said.

Gunn took one look at her determined face and told Liam, “We’ll follow in my car.”

* * *

For the second time that night, William found himself racing towards a friend’s house, unsure of what he would find. He was practically shaking, the adrenaline rush of fear leaving a sour taste in his mouth. His fingers drummed nervously on his thigh. They turned onto Buffy’s street and William froze; Buffy’s house was bathed in red and blue flashing lights, two squad cars parked out front and an ambulance sitting in the driveway. Kate pulled up out front.

“Stay here,” she said as she unbuckled her seat belt.

William started to protest, but she cut him off. “I have no idea what the situation is here. It could be dangerous for you.”

She got out of the car and hurried up the walk. William looked at Liam pleadingly.

“Liam, can we at least get out of the car? I can’t stand being stuck in here.”

Liam nodded and they got out to stand by the car. Gunn and Willow hurried up to them, Willow sobbing quietly.

“Is Buffy all right?” she asked.

“We don’t know yet,” Liam replied.

Willow slid her hand into William's and the two friends stood together, anxiously waiting for word. Liam saw Kate come out of the house.

“Gunn, stay with them.”

William watched as Liam spoke to Kate, saw the broad shoulders tense, and his stomach rolled sickeningly. Liam rejoined the little group.

“She’s alive, but she’s been hurt badly. The EMT’s are stabilizing her now, they should be out any second.”

Willow broke into fresh sobs and William saw the EMT’s coming out of the house with a stretcher. William moved towards it, but Liam blocked his way.

“Move, Liam.”

“Will, you need to stay out of the way, let the EMT’s help Buffy. We’ll follow the ambulance to the hospital, I promise.”

William watched the stretcher being loaded, blue eyes full of pain and self-loathing.

“This is all my fault,” he said.

“Don’t say that, Will.” Liam put his hand on William’s shoulder.

William flung Liam’s hand off and looked at him furiously. “It is my fault. Buffy got hurt because some sick asshole is fixated on me. If I hadn’t been hiding out in my crypt like some pansy ass coward, maybe he would have come after me and left Buffy alone.”

“Will...”

“Don’t. Don’t give me some fucking platitudes. That psycho was killing Willow’s cat and doing God knows what to Buffy and what was I doing? I was having a high old time, shopping and eating out and getting fucked on the beach.” Unshed tears shimmered in his eyes. “Damn it, Liam, you should have thought of this. You should have known he’d go after Buffy.”

Liam flinched as if struck. Willow put a restraining hand on William’s arm. Gunn glared furiously at William.

“That’s enough, man.”

“Back off, Gunn, he’s right.” Liam’s expression was unreadable, his body rigid. “Could you take them to the hospital for me? I want to stay here with Kate, see if there’s any evidence this time.”

Gunn took one look at his friend’s closed off expression and nodded. “Yeah, ok. I’ll call Cordy and have her and Wes meet me there. Then I can come back and help you.”

“Thanks.”

Without another word, Liam turned and walked to Kate. He forced himself not to look back, knew he couldn’t handle seeing the look of accusation on his lover’s face.

* * *

Liam walked through Buffy’s house with Kate, wincing at the damage he saw. The entryway of the house was covered in blood; splashed on the walls, drying on the carpet. There was a small overturned table near the door and paintings had been knocked off the wall.

“The attack started here,” Kate said. “She must have know whoever it is, she let them in and   
felt secure enough to turn her back on them. Far as we can tell, there was a phone on that table. He picked it up and hit her with it. She went down, but she wasn’t out. Girl’s a fighter.”

She led the way into the living room and the stench of blood became thicker. “She was attacked again in here. Looks like he took a poker from the fireplace and beat her with it. We have no idea if he thought she was dead and left or if we showed up and scared him off.”

Liam looked at the blood stained room. “How is she even still alive?”

“Got me. She’s tough. According to the EMT’s, she’s critical. She might not survive the ride to the hospital.”

Liam winced; he didn’t want to think about what it would do to William to lose Buffy. He forced thoughts of William to the back of his mind and went to work.

An hour later and Liam had methodically made his way through Buffy’s neighborhood. He had come up with zip so far and his shoulders slumped with weariness. He got back to Buffy’s to find Gunn waiting for him.

“How is she?” Liam asked.

Gunn shrugged. “I don’t know, they took her straight to surgery. I didn’t stick around, left as soon as Cordy got there. Figured you needed me here.”

“I’ve talked to the neighbors that are home. So far nothing and I don’t think the cops did any better.” He rolled his shoulders, wincing a little.

“You ok?”

“Of course.”

Gunn just looked at him and Liam stiffened. “I’m fine. I’m on my way to talk to Kate, see if she’s got anything for me. You coming or are you going to grill me on my love life?”

“You know he didn’t mean it. William was just scared and upset.”

Liam’s voice was flat. “He meant it and what’s more, he’s right. I was so worried about what it would do to Will if Willow was hurt that that was all I could think about. I was thinking like a lover and not like an investigator and Buffy paid for it.”

With an unhappy sigh, Gunn gave up trying to talk some sense into Liam. Liam was a great guy, but he was stubborn as hell. He also took his responsibilities seriously; sometimes too seriously. Gunn just hoped that this time Liam would cut himself some slack. He sighed again. He’d be glad when this case was finally over.


	11. Chapter 11

William paced the waiting room nervously. Buffy was still in surgery and not knowing what was going on was driving him crazy. Oz arrived and Willow ran to him, crying softly as he pulled her into his arms.

“Any news?” he asked.

William just shook his head and continued pacing. Oz and Willow sat down and she filled him in on the events of the evening. Cordelia sat on one of the couches with Wesley, watching William pace. She and Wesley shared a look and then Cordelia went over to William.

“How are you holding up?” she asked.

“I hate not knowing. Hate that I can’t see her. She’s my family, Cordelia. I can’t...” he choked back a sob.

Cordelia led him to a chair and sat down next to him. She rubbed his back soothingly, knowing there wasn’t anything she could say to make it better.

“I need to tell you something,” William said.

“What’s that?”

“I, well, I was kind of an ass tonight. To Liam. I said some really harsh things to him.”

He looked at Cordelia and winced; that was not a happy look. He forced himself to continue.

“I’m telling you because you know him better than anyone and I need to know just how badly I screwed up.”

“Go on, but you should know that I reserve the right to have Gunn hold you down while I kick your ass.”

“You won’t have to hold me down, Cordelia, I deserve the ass kicking.”

“Yeah, well, Gunn and I prefer to do things as a couple.”

William couldn’t help but laugh at that. He gave Cordelia a run down of the day, managing to hit the highlights without going into TMI territory. Then he told her about the fight outside Buffy’s.

“So, chocolate? Flowers? Some groveling? Do I just buy the man a hockey team or what?”

Cordelia smiled, but it was tinged with sadness and William felt his spirits sink.

“Normally I’d say that that doesn’t sound bad. Yes, it was hurtful, but you were upset and I’m sure you didn’t mean it.”

“Course I didn’t. I was angry at the whole situation and I took it out on Liam.”

“The problem is Liam isn’t normal, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. He’s serious, sometimes too serious, you know? You hit him where it would hurt the most- his sense of responsibility. I’m going to tell you some things and maybe this will make more sense.

When I moved to L.A., I had visions of fame and fortune dancing in my head. I was going to be an actress, have adoring fans falling at my feet. And why not? I was beautiful and in high school everyone worshipped me. Then I got here and found out that beautiful girls are a dime a dozen and my looks weren’t going to get me what I wanted. I went to a few auditions, but nothing happened. I was broke and hungry and pretty damn close to giving up and going back home when I met Liam. He had given a friend a ride to a party and she convinced him to hang out awhile.

Long story short, he rescued me from a jerk who wanted me to a ‘personal audition’ for him and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Liam got me out of there, took me for coffee, and we spent the whole night talking. He gave me his card, told me if I ever needed a friend to call him. I was lonely so I started dropping by his office to hang out. Back then it was just him and a temporary secretary. One day I stopped by to visit and he was going nuts. The temp hadn’t shown up and he was swamped. I started answering the phones and, well, I just never left.

Wesley came here to California straight from England. He was kind of lost, had a lot of baggage which I won’t go into. That’s his personal business. Anyway, he was working as a free-lance private investigator and one of his cases overlapped with one of Liam’s. Liam helped him out with it and when the case was over Wesley started dropping in, offering to help out where he could. Eventually, he was working with us on every case and it was like he’d always been there.

Then Gunn came along. He was a cop, but he was on the verge of losing his badge. His sister, Alonna, had been murdered by a drug dealer Gunn had put away. The guy paid a friend on the outside to kill Alonna in retaliation. Gunn was having a really hard time dealing with it. Liam was working a case in Gunn’s neighborhood and the two ran into each other. Liam helped Gunn get out of a nasty situation; not that Gunn appreciated it. They butted heads, but eventually Gunn ended up working with us more often than not. He quit the force and Liam offered him a job.”

She stopped a minute to let William process everything before continuing.

“Now you’re probably thinking that what Liam did was nice, but no big deal. Liam has a successful agency and enough work to go around. What you should know is that Liam took me, Wes, and Gunn in during the first year of opening his agency. He was just starting out and he took in three strays that he couldn’t afford and he did it because we needed him. He’s got the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known. Our little Fred? Is a runaway from Texas. Liam found her living on the streets and he took her in; gave her a job, found her an apartment. He never thought twice about it. He sees someone that needs help and he gives it.”

William now understood Cordelia and Gunn’s fierce loyalty to Liam. He was sure that when he got to know Wesley and Fred better he’d get the same reaction. These people weren’t just friends, they were Liam’s family. Cordelia was talking again and William forced his attention back to her.

“The things you said tonight are just things that Liam was already thinking. He’ll blame himself for Buffy and it’ll kill him that you’re hurting because of what happened to her. You probably think I’m making a huge deal out of what’s really just your first fight, but you don’t know Liam like I do. He can angst with the best of them. Also, after Lindsey, he got really good at closing himself off, insulating himself from pain. This thing between the two of you happened so fast and I know he’s unsure of it. He could use this as an excuse to crawl back under his rock.”

“Are you saying we’re totally screwed?”

“No, I’m saying Liam is a stubborn ass. If you want him, you’re going to have be just as stubborn. He’ll try to push you away; don’t let him. He’s good at freezing people out and he won’t make it easy on you.”

“He’s worth it.”

The quiet conviction in William’s voice relieved some of Cordelia’s anxiety.

“I’ve always thought so.”

She reached out and he took her hand, giving her a grateful smile. They sat quietly together, each lost in their own thoughts. The door to the waiting room opened and William recognized the doctor from his own recent hospital stay. The gang crowded around her and she smiled reassuringly.

“Your friend came through the surgery very well,” Dr. Walsh said. “She’s stable and her vital signs are good. She’s got some broken bones and bruising, but the worst is her head injury. She’s got a severe concussion and we’ll be watching her closely. She’s a fighter and that’s good; she’ll need to be. The next 48 hours are critical for her. If we make it through that, I’ll change my opinion on her recovery from guardedly optimistic to enthusiastic.”

William gave a relieved sigh and hugged an elastic Willow to him. Even the usually stoic Oz had a huge grin on his face.

“Can we see her?” William asked.

“She’s being moved into a regular room and as soon as she’s settled I’ll let you see her for a few minutes. She won’t be awake, but I know how worried you all are. After you see her, I recommend that you go home and rest.” She held up a hand to stop the protests. “Considering her injuries, it’s hard to predict when Miss Summers will wake up, but I can almost certainly guarantee that it won’t happen tonight. The next few days will be hard on all of you; you need to get some rest while you can.”

Reluctantly they agreed and the doctor left them alone. William decided that the doctor actually had a good idea; at home, he’d have a chance to talk to Liam when the detective came to relieve Wesley. Feeling a little better, William settled down to wait until it was time to see Buffy.

* * *

As it turned out, things didn’t quite work out that way. The night of Buffy’s attack, Wesley took William home and stayed with him all night. Gunn arrived as usual the next morning and the two spent most of the day at the hospital. That night when Wesley showed up instead of Liam, William knew what was going on.

“He’s not coming back here, is he? He’s avoiding me.”

Wesley had blushed and stammered something about Liam being tied up working on William’s case. William had nodded and gone into his study, after all, it wasn’t Wesley’s fault. No sense in making the man even more uncomfortable. He sat for a long time, staring out the window and thinking.

When Gunn showed up the following morning, they went to the hospital to find that Buffy was starting to wake up. She was groggy and didn’t stay awake long, but she was awake and William finally let himself believe that she was going to be all right. He sat at her bedside until lunch then he and Gunn left to grab something to eat.

At lunch, William asked Gunn when Liam was planning on taking over for Wesley. The big detective’s silence was answer enough.

“I need to talk to him, Charlie. Take me to the office after lunch?”

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

“He hasn’t even given me a chance to apologize. He’s blowing me off and I’m not going to let him do it. He can at least tell me to go to hell to my face.”

Gunn looked pensive for a minute and then he nodded slowly. “You’re right, but if the boss man kills me, I’m coming back to haunt your ass.”

William started laughing. “You’ve got yourself a deal, mate.”

* * *

 

Liam sat at his desk, going over the police reports from the attack on Buffy. He rubbed the back of his neck wearily.

“Are you ok?”

He looked up to see Cordelia standing in the doorway. He smiled at her.

“I’m fine. A little tired, maybe.”

She rolled her eyes and moved to stand behind him, taking over the neck rub. Liam sighed gratefully and relaxed in his chair.

“You’re working too hard.”

“We’ve got a lot of active cases.”

“Yeah, but we have one active case that you’re killing yourself to close. Do you really think that’ll make William go away? Make you stop thinking about him?”

Liam stiffened, but Cordelia ignored it and continued talking.

“He talked to me about it, told me what he said. Liam, I know that what he said hurt you, but he didn’t mean it.”

“This isn’t about what he said, or at least not all about it. It doesn’t matter if he meant it or not, he was right. I wasn’t doing my job. I shouldn’t have started anything with him while he was a client. I made a mistake.”

“And when he’s not a client anymore, then what?”

No response and it just confirmed what she already knew.

“Liam, why are you pushing him away?”

Liam turned to her and his eyes were bleak. “Do you really think that he can forgive me for what happened to Buffy?”

“What happened to Buffy isn’t your fault, but I don’t think it matters whether he forgives you or not, not if you don’t forgive yourself. You’re going to lose him, Liam, and when you do, that will be your fault.”

There was a tap on the open door and they turned to see Gunn in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt, but I thought you might want to know that Buffy’s awake. She’s not alert enough to answer questions, but she’s awake.”

Liam was frowning at him. “Where’s William? You didn’t leave him alone, did you?”

Gunn gave him a level look. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t ask me that.” Liam flushed and Gunn continued. “He’s in the lobby, talking to Fred.”

“No, he isn’t. He’s right here.” William spoke from behind Gunn. “I need to talk to Liam.”

“It’s not really a good time, William.”

William winced slightly at Liam’s use of his full name. Cordelia looked at the two of them then looked at Gunn.

“I’m glad you’re here, Gunn. I’m working on the background checks from William’s file. I could use some help getting organized.”

The two beat a hasty retreat, Cordelia pausing just long enough to give William’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze as she passed him. Liam glowered at her. If he knew Cordelia, and he did, those reports were already sorted by gender and then alphabetized. He was going to get her for this.

William stepped into the office and closed the door. He took a seat across from Liam’s desk, watching as Liam fiddled with some papers on his desk.

“How long are you going to ignore me?” William asked quietly.

Brown eyes flicked to his then quickly looked away. “I’m not ignoring you, I’m just busy.”

“Why are you doing this, Liam? I know that what I said hurt you and I’m sorry. I was angry and I took it out on you. There’s no excuse for that.”

Liam was still avoiding his gaze. “Thank you for that, but it doesn’t change anything. I was distracted and couldn’t do my job. I shouldn’t have started this with you. It was a mistake.”

A quick intake of breath at the pain, but William forced himself to keep his eyes on Liam. “We’re not a mistake and I’m not going to let you do this. You mean too much to me to just walk away. I’m tough, Liam, and I’m damn determined when I want something. I’ve lost too many people to just throw away the ones that I still have.”

Liam was finally looking at him and William went on.

“When my parents died, I wanted to just curl up into a ball and die right along with them. Then I found out that I was going to have to go live in a strange country with a guy I’d seen exactly twice in my life. Course I was royally pissed and set out trying to make the worst impression I could. I dyed my hair, went in for the whole punk look. Uncle Rupert never batted an eye. In that first year, I don’t know why he didn’t strangle me. He and Joyce weren’t married yet, just engaged, and I made their lives hell. Finally, Buffy knocked some sense into me. Literally. We were arguing about something, as usual, and she actually punched me. Then she sat me down and forced me to talk to her. She pried everything out of me until I was just drained. She let me cry on her shoulder and after that I actually felt better. We’ve been inseparable ever since. She introduced me to her friends and I grew to love them too. They never once made me feel less a part of the group just because I hadn’t been there in the beginning. They accepted me the way I was, including being gay. I’d never had friends like that before. Then Xander died and I lost it. He and I were...close. Oz had a band even back then, so Xander and I spent a lot of guy time together while the girls did girly stuff. He was my best mate next to Buffy. Losing him just ripped open all the old wounds from my parent’s deaths. I started drinking, doing drugs, and screwing around. I’d nail anything that moved. Buffy came to my rescue again. This time she locked us in her basement and we had a huge fight. Yelling and screaming and throwing things. Finally she broke down sobbing and asked me just what the hell she was supposed to do if she lost me like she lost Xander. She wanted to know if I had a death wish and I couldn’t really answer her. I never thought about what I was doing as unsafe, but of course it was. For the second time in my life, Buffy saved me. Or we saved each other. That sounds more accurate. You should know that I don’t screw around anymore. I’ve had my fill of casual sex. My last relationship was two years ago and even that wasn’t love. I wanted it to be, but I’ve only ever been really in love once. I lost him and I never looked for anyone else. Until you. The minute I saw you I knew that I wanted you. I know this will sound sappy and make me sound like a sissy, but I don’t care. I’m falling for you, Liam. Hard. And I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep you.”

He got up and left the office, leaving Liam staring after him in complete bewilderment.


	12. Chapter 12

William was in his study, supposedly working on the next chapter of his book. He couldn’t seem to concentrate though, so he decided to clean out the study. He was going through some old files when there was a knock on the door. Figuring it was either Gunn telling him goodbye or Wesley saying hello, he called out a quick ‘door’s open’ without stopping what he was doing. When he looked up, he saw Liam standing uncertainly in the doorway.

“Hey,” William said quietly.

“Hi. If you’re busy, I can leave you alone.”

William smiled. “Just procrastinating. Figured I ought to wade through this mess.”

“I’m sorry about the last few days.”

“You? I’m the one that was an arse.”

“Well, maybe, but I shouldn’t have acted the way I did. I knew you were sorry, but I froze you out anyway. I just...you scare me, Will.”

William raised a brow. “Ta, mate. You really know how to make bloke feel special.”

Liam smiled. “Smart ass.” Liam’s expression sobered. “I haven’t felt like this since Lindsey and even that didn’t happen this fast.” He paused and gave William another small smile. “I’m glad you came by the office today.”

“I wasn’t gonna let you walk away without a fight. I did that once before.”

“The guy you mentioned this morning?”

“Yeah.”

William settled back in his chair and nodded towards one of the over-stuffed recliners grouped around the desk. He waited for Liam to get comfortable, thinking about just where to start.

“I told you about my folks, coming to live with my uncle, and meeting Buffy. I think I told you that she and her friends adopted me, but it was more than that. They loved me and accepted me the way that I was. My being gay wasn’t something that ever bothered any of them. You probably understand just how rate it was to find high school males that didn’t care that I liked guys. Xander and Oz never batted an eye, never treated me any differently than they did each other.

Even back then, Oz played in a band and he spent a lot of his time practicing with them. Xander and I would end up hanging out together whenever Oz was at practice and the girls were shopping or whatever. We were best mates, Xan and I. After Buffy, he was the best friend I had. Could talk to him about anything and he’d listen. He was the heart of our little group, putting us back together when we had spats. But you never wanted to make him mad; it took a lot to piss him off, but if you did you’d better watch out.”

William paused for a minute, remembering his lost friend. Warm affection was evident in his tone as was sadness.

“When did you know you loved him?” Liam asked.

William smiled. “Don’t know, really. It wasn’t just one thing, but everything. I knew nothing would ever come of it. He was straight, he loved Anya, and then he was engaged. I was ok with it. Not happy, of course, and if he hadn’t been with Anya? I think I would have taken the chance, asked him out. But he was and I didn’t. Then, about a month before Xander’s wedding, Anya and the girls took off for some weekend spa thing. Kind of a bachlorette deal, or whatever. Oz was out of town with the band so Xan and I went out to celebrate. Last hurrah before he got hitched and all. We ended up at my place, a little stoned and a lot drunk, and he kissed me. Said he’d been curious and wanted to try it. With me.

We ended up in bed and I know I should have stopped it, but it was Xander, you know? Even though it didn’t mean anything to him, I wanted it. We never talked about it, just went back to our normal lives. A month later he was gone.”

“I’m so sorry Will.”

“I freaked out after Xan died, told you about that. I just felt so damn guilty. Kept thinking that if I had told him how I felt, maybe he would have left Anya. Then he wouldn’t have been out with her that day, wouldn’t have been in the car. On the other hand, he might have freaked out and I would have lost him anyway.”

Liam was out of the chair and around the desk almost before William noticed him move. He pulled William out of his chair and up against his broad chest, wrapping his arms tightly around William’s smaller frame.

“It isn’t your fault that he died, Will.”

“I know that. Now.”

They stood like that for a long time, William enjoying the comforting feel of Liam wrapped around him. He felt Liam’s lips brush his temple and raised his head to find Liam staring at him. Liam’s mouth found his, the kiss hesitant at first as if Liam was afraid that William would pull away from him. William didn’t; he wound his fingers in Liam’s dark hair and kissed him passionately. When they broke the kiss, they were both breathing hard.

“Come to bed with me?” William asked.

Liam’s slow sexy smile made heat flare in William’s belly. William held out his hand and Liam took it. Together they made their way to William’s bedroom. Once there, they stood by William’s bed, undressing each other slowly. Hands roamed bared flesh as their lips met again.

William fell back on the bed, pulling Liam with him. The feel of Liam’s body on his was already comforting and familiar. Scary, Liam had said. More like terrifying, but William didn’t care. It didn’t matter how fast it was happening, it felt right. He wrapped his legs around Liam’s waist and pulled him closer.

At the first touch of William’s cock against his, Liam groaned softly against William’s lips. He moved his hips slowly, rubbing against William. He feathered little kisses along William’s jaw and down his throat, nuzzling into that sweet place where neck met shoulder.

“I missed you, Will. It was only three days, but it felt so much longer.”

William turned his head slightly, offering Liam his neck. He loved when Liam did that. If he could purr, he would have. He felt Liam’s lips moving against his skin as he spoke, heard the odd note in Liam’s voice. He pulled Liam up for another kiss. The look in Liam’s eyes made William’s chest ache; fear, vulnerability, and need all expressed in those beautiful brown eyes. He ran a gentle hand over Liam’s cheek.

“Missed you too. I was afraid you wouldn’t come back, wouldn’t let me apologize.”

They kissed almost desperately, emotions running high, both feeling on the edge of something they couldn’t define. William arched up into Liam’s body.

“Want you, Liam. Always want you.”

Liam reached over and fumbled through the nightstand. He found the lube and then settled back over William. He squeezed a generous amount of the cold gel onto his fingers then rubbed them together to warm it. He slid his hand down over William’s cock, across his balls, and down to circle a fingertip over his opening. He kissed William, sliding his tongue inside William’s warm mouth as his finger slid deep into William’s body.

William moaned into Liam’s mouth, hips bucking lightly at the press of Liam’s finger. He spread his legs wider, silently asking for more. Liam thrust his tongue lazily into William’s mouth, his finger mimicking the same movements in William’s ass. It wasn’t long before William was arching up into his hand, making these sexy little whimpers against Liam’s mouth. Liam pulled his hand away from William’s ass and sat back on his heels. He grabbed the discarded lube and squeezed some onto his palm. He began to slick his cock with slow measured strokes. William watched Liam’s hand as it slid along the hard flesh.

“Jesus, Liam, you’re bloody gorgeous.”

Slow blink then a lazy smile as Liam moved between William’s thighs.

“No, that would be you. Lying here all rumpled and splayed, ready for me. Sexiest sight I’ve ever seen.”

Liam nudged William’s thighs further apart and settled between them. He reached between their bodies and positioned his cock at William’s opening. Gentle nudge then pressure then that sweet slow ache that came with being filled. William’s eyes closed and he moaned in pure bliss. Liam was entering him so slowly and it made William whimper.

“Please Liam. Want all of you in me.”

“And I’ll give you that, but slow, Will. Love feeling you stretch around me, letting me in. Feels so good.”

“God, Liam.”

William’s eyes locked on Liam’s and he felt Liam slide the last few inches into him. Liam paused then and they stared at one another. He leaned forward and kissed William softly, barest brush of his mouth on William’s.

When Liam began to move in him, William couldn’t help the soft cries that escaped him. He’d never been taken like this; slow sweet and easy, so so carefully as if William were breakable. They moved together lazily; slow easy rocking of hips, hands rubbing over every inch of the other’s body that they could reach, lips moving softly in the briefest of kisses.

When Liam couldn’t hold back any longer, he reached between them and wrapped his hand around William’s cock. Quickening his pace, he started to stroke William in the same fast rhythm he set with his hips. He watched William’s face, eyes taking in the pleasure on William’s face.

“You’re so beautiful when I’m in you. The way your eyes darken when I move in you, the way your body moves under mine, the way you look when I touch that spot inside that makes you see stars. So very beautiful, _A Ghrá_.”

William’s breath had caught when Liam started speaking; the words, the tone all going straight to his heart. When Liam said the last, he shattered, coming with an intensity he couldn’t ever remember feeling before. He felt Liam coming inside him, body sliding sensuously over his, whispering one phrase over and over.

“ _Táim i ngrá leat_. My Will, _Táim i ngrá leat_.”

Liam collapsed on top of William, shaking slightly. When he started to move away, William tightened his hold. With a small chuckle, Liam shifted them onto their sides, careful not to slip out of William just yet.

“Going to tell me what you just said? It was beautiful.”

Liam smiled. “I don’t speak Gaeilge very often. Couldn’t help myself. It seemed appropriate with the mood.”

“It was and you’re avoiding the question.”

Liam’s eyes dropped from his and William put his hand under Liam’s chin and brought his head back up.

“I think I have a pretty good idea what you just said. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want. If it was just a heat of the moment kind of thing. I understand.”

“It’s not like that Will. Even in the ’heat of the moment’ I don’t say things I don’t mean.” Liam leaned closer and kissed William, murmuring against his mouth. “ _Is grá liom thú, Will_. I love you. So much.”

William had to swallow past a sudden lump in his throat. “No one’s ever told me that before.”

“Good. I like being the first. Love you, Will. I think I might keep saying it until you’re sick of it.”

“Never gonna happen.” William curled his hand around the nape of Liam’s neck, holding him still for several breath-stealing kisses. “I love you, too, Liam. Can’t say it as pretty as you did, but I love you.”

They kissed again, the kiss gradually becoming deeper and more passionate. William pulled back to look at Liam.

“How do you say ‘make love to me’?”

Liam smiled. “ _Déan suirí liom_.”

In a flash William had turned them so that Liam was on his back with William straddling him. Giving Liam a cheeky grin, William said “well if you insist.” They spent the next several hours lost in each other, letting the outside world fall away until there was nothing and no one in it, but the two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Ghrá- my love
> 
> Táim i ngrá leat- I’m in love with you
> 
> Is grá liom thú- I love you


	13. Chapter 13

William lay spooned against Liam’s chest, one of Liam’s hands idly stroking his belly. He couldn’t ever remember feeling this content. He and Liam had made love, talked, dozed, and then woken up to do it all over again. An hour ago, Liam had dragged him from the bed, declaring they needed food and bathing. They’d showered, taking turns soaping each other lazily, hands sliding through the foam, until Liam couldn’t stand anymore and had taken William against the shower wall. Of course, they’d had to shower all over again, but neither one of them minded too much. After showering, they’d wandered into the kitchen and William had made omelets. Now they were back to lounging in bed, enjoying the laziness.

“Think I could stay like this for days,” William said sleepily.

Liam chuckled. “It would be nice, wouldn’t it? No work, no phone, no TV, just us.”

William rolled over to face Liam. “Could we do that?”

“Do what?”

“When this mess is over, could we take a vacation? You and me, somewhere sunny and warm. No drama, just us together.”

Liam smiled. “Lie on the beach, swim, have lazy sex. Hmm, I don’t know. Sounds awfully boring.”

William grinned and poked Liam’s ribs, making the bigger man laugh. “I could change your mind. I can be very persuasive.”

Liam rolled onto his back and put his hands under his head. “Go ahead, _A Ghrá_ , persuade me.”

William gave him a sexy smile and then moved to straddle Liam. Bracing himself on all fours above his lover, William bent down and ran his tongue lightly over Liam’s lips, giving a little sigh of satisfaction when Liam parted his lips and let him in. He kissed Liam softly, pulling back just a little whenever Liam tried to deepen the kiss. Finally, Liam gave a low growl and brought his hands from under his head. He tangled his fingers in William’s hair and held him still for a bruising kiss.

“Tease,” Liam murmured against William’s lips.

“Not teasing, love, just playing.”

“Teasing,” Liam said adamantly, pulling William in for another kiss.

William was about to say something when the ringing of Liam’s cell phone interrupted them.

“Damn. Hold that thought.” Liam retrieved his pants and fished his cell phone from the pocket.

“McLoughlin. Hey, Kate, what’s new?”

Long silence and William was starting to get antsy when Liam finally spoke again.

“Are you sure? Ok. I think so. Hang on.”

Liam turned to William.

“Do you have a fax machine in your office here?”

“Yeah.” William gave him the number and Liam relayed it to Kate.

“Thanks Kate. I’ll call you right back.”

Liam closed the phone and grabbed his pants, sliding them on as he told William Kate’s news.

“A neighbor of Buffy’s saw a guy hanging around Buffy’s house the day of the attack. Being new to the neighborhood, everyone’s a stranger and he didn’t think anything of it. He and his wife went out of town, they just got back. They heard about Buffy from other neighbors. He said he wouldn’t have remembered the stranger hanging around except that he’s seen the man three times in the last day or so. He decided it wouldn’t hurt to call the police. Kate’s faxing a sketch of the man to you. She’s hoping you’ll recognize him.”

William pulled on his jeans and followed Liam into the study. The fax machine was just finishing so Liam grabbed the piece of paper and held it out to William. William took one look at the sketch and his widened in surprise.

“Jesus, Liam, that’s Riley.”

The name seemed vaguely familiar to Liam and it only took him a second to place it. “Buffy’s boyfriend?”

“Yeah, he isn’t even supposed to be in the country right now.”

Liam called Kate back and gave her the information on Riley Finn. He hung up and they went back to the bedroom, dressing quickly.

“We’re going to go see Kate. She’s going to want to ask you some questions about Riley. Also, she’s going to put a couple of guys outside Buffy’s house. See if they can pick Riley up for questioning.”

William nodded silently and together they headed out.

* * *

William sat across from Kate’s desk, cup of coffee in hand. Liam sat next to him, talking with Kate.

“Have you been able to find out anything about Riley Finn?”

“A little, but it’s going to take time. He’s not officially a suspect so there’s not a lot I can do right now.” She looked at William. “What do you know about him?”

“You mean besides the fact that he’s a git?” William sighed. “Sorry, not helpful, I know. Just can’t stand the bloke.”

“Why not?” Kate asked.

“He was all right when he first moved to Sunnydale. Riley met Buffy because they had a class together. He was already doing the weekend guard thing or whatever while he went to school. Riley was ok, you know? When he and Buffy started going out, I liked him. We all did, but as things started to get more serious, he changed.”

“Changed how?” Liam wanted to know.

“Did he become abusive?” Kate asked.

“No, no way. Buffy wouldn’t have put up with that. He just…loves her so much. And he never believed that she loved him as much as he loved her. Buffy’s very independent and Riley likes to be needed. Got this streak of old-fashioned chivalry in him, wants to take care of his girl. Buffy is more than capable of taking care of herself. Then there’s me.”

Kate frowned. “What about you?”

“Riley thought we were more than friends. He hates how close Buffy and I are. Never really understood it. He’s fine with the rest of the gang, but he doesn’t like me.”

“Were you and Buffy ever a couple? Any reason for him to think that you’re more than friends?”

William shook his head. “I’m gay and Riley’s always known that. I never hid it.”

Kate nodded slowly. Before she could say anything, Liam spoke.

“I thought you and Buffy were together. That first day you two came to my office, I assumed you guys were a couple. You were so easy together and affectionate. Close.”

Kate looked at Liam, amused by the slight tinge of jealousy in his tone. She forced herself back to the task at hand; she could needle Liam later.

“If Finn is the possessive type, he might see that closeness as a threat,” Kate said.

“If Riley’s the stalker, why aren’t I dead? He’s got that spooky military training thing going for him.”

Liam shuddered, remembering how close the calls had been. “He got interrupted and couldn’t finish?”

“Or he wasn’t actually trying to kill you. Maybe he just wanted to scare you,” Kate said.

Kate’s phone rang and she picked it up. William turned to Liam.

“Why attack Buffy? Riley loves Buffy, that much I do know.”

“People hurt their loved ones every day, Will. Maybe he got tired of feeling like he was in second place.”

William reached over and took Liam’s hand. Kate hung up the phone and stood.

“That was Officer Ames. He and his partner just picked up Finn. He’s agreed to come in and talk to us.”

Liam stood up as well. “I want to be there.”

“You can’t be in the room, you know that, but I’ll let you in the observation room,” Kate told him.

“What about me?” William demanded.

Kate shook her head, “I can squeak past the rules with Liam, but you’re the victim. I’m sorry, but there’s no way I can let you anywhere near that room.”

“Bloody hell,” William muttered.

“You can wait here in Kate’s office,” Liam said. “As soon as something happens, I’ll let you know.”

Liam and Kate left the office and headed to the observation room.

“Are you going to handle the interrogation?” Liam asked Kate as they walked.

“Yes. I’m more familiar with the case than some of the others.”

Liam felt Kate’s eyes on him. “What?”

She grinned at him. “So, you and the writer, huh?”

“Me and the writer what?” Liam asked innocently.

“Don’t play dumb with me, McLoughlin. You like him,” Kate smirked.

“No, I don’t.” Liam saw her exasperated expression and laughed. “I love him. Big difference.”

Kate’s smile was huge. “It’s about damn time!”

“Yeah, so let’s get this over with. I want to take my boy somewhere warm and sunny and keep him naked for weeks.”

Kate started laughing. “God, you’ve got it bad.”

“Can’t argue with you there.”

* * *

Twenty minutes later, all trace of a smile had vanished as Liam observed the man who was quite possibly William’s stalker through one-way glass. Riley Finn was a big man with dark-blond hair and an easy manner. He seemed relaxed, if a little confused. Liam watched as Kate entered the room.

“Mr. Finn? I’m Detective Lockley. Thank you for coming in.”

“What’s going on?” Riley asked.

“Mr. Finn didn’t the officers who escorted you here tell you anything?”

“Just that there was some problem with William. What’s the little faggot done now?”

Liam’s hands balled into fists. He wondered how much trouble he’d be in if he went in there and beat the little bastard to within an inch of his life.

Kate eyed Riley speculatively. “Do you have a problem with gays, Mr. Finn?”

Riley sighed. “No, sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. William and I don’t like each other. That’s all.”

“Why not?”

“He’s needy. He clings to Buffy and she feels responsible for him. She refuses to leave L.A. because he’s here. She won’t leave him.”

“Were you aware that Mr. Reed has been receiving threatening letters?”

“Is that what this is about? Some weird fan letters?”

“Mr. Reed was attacked recently, on several separate occasions. No, this isn’t about some letters, Mr. Finn. It’s about attempted murder.”

Riley’s mouth dropped open. “You think I tried to kill William?”

“I don’t know what to think at this point. You know William, you happen to dislike him, so we’re talking.”

“I didn’t try to kill him.”

Kate just looked at him and Riley sighed. “I’m in the Initiative. We train harder than the Seals. If I wanted William dead, he would be. And you wouldn’t find his body.”

“Is that a threat?”

“No, ma’m. It’s a fact. I don’t want William dead, it would hurt Buffy too much.”

“Why have you been hanging around Miss Summer’s house? Neighbors saw you and called us. Not very stealthy for a commando.”

Riley flushed. “I didn’t realize…all my thoughts have been on getting Buffy to talk to me. We had a huge fight before I left. I want to see her, try and patch things up.”

“So you’ve just been hanging around her house?”

“Buffy goes out of town all the time on buying trips for her mom. I figured she wouldn’t talk to me on the phone because of the fight so I’ve been trying to catch her at home.”

Riley noticed Kate’s expression and paled.

“Buffy isn’t out of town, is she?”

“No, Mr. Finn, she isn’t. She was attacked by the man that’s been stalking Mr. Reed.”

Riley‘s face went even paler. “Oh God, is she ok?”

“She was very badly injured, but the doctors seem to think that she’ll make a full recovery.”

Riley hitched in a shaky breath. “Are we done here? I want to see Buffy.”

Kate nodded. “If you’ll give me a minute, Mr. Finn, I’ll get a car ready to take you to her.”

* * *

William anxiously paced Kate’s office. He wanted to know what was going on and he wanted to know now. His cell phone rang, startling him. With an impatient scowl, he answered it.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Reed? This is Mrs. Powers.”

There was a lot of noise and confusion in the background and William had to strain to hear.

“I’m a nurse on Buffy’s floor. We were given this number to call in case of an emergency.”

“Is Buffy ok? What happened?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Reed, but Miss Summers has taken a turn for the worse. The doctors have stabilized her, but I think you should come. Quickly.”

“I’m on my way.”

William pocketed his cell phone and left Kate’s office. He found an officer at the front desk.

“I need to see Detective Lockley or Mr. McLoughlin right away. It’s an emergency.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but no one’s allowed in interrogation.”

“Can’t you interrupt?”

The officer just looked at him and William sighed.

“Right. Fine. Can you at least get a message to them? I’m William Reed. Tell Liam that there was an emergency at the hospital and I had to leave. He can meet me there when he’s done here.”

“I’ll make sure and tell them as soon as they come out.”

“Thanks.”

William hurried back to Kate’s office and found Liam’s jacket hanging over the back of a chair. He grabbed Liam’s keys and raced out the door.

* * *

Kate entered the observation room and went to stand by Liam.

“What do you think?” Liam asked.

“He seemed genuinely surprised when he heard about the attempts on William’s life. And that fear for Buffy seemed real, but I’ve been lied to before.”

“Yeah.”

“Gut instinct says he isn’t our guy. And to be honest, at this point it wouldn’t matter if he was. We don’t have a single thing on him. Not one piece of physical evidence to tie him to any of the attacks. I can’t keep him here.”

“Shit.”

“You said it.”

Kate used the phone on the wall and arranged to have an officer escort Riley to the hospital. After she hung up, they headed back to Kate’s office. They were just outside the door when they were stopped by the front desk officer.

“Mr. McLoughlin, I have a message for you from Mr. Reed. He said to tell you that there was an emergency at the hospital and that you could find him there when you were finished.”

“What? You let him leave?”

The young officer looked confused. “No one told me he wasn’t supposed to leave.”

“It’s ok, Mike, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Kate assured him.

The officer hurried away, giving Liam a wide berth as he left.

“Calm down Liam.”

“Calm down? Damn it, Kate, Will’s stalker is still out there somewhere. He shouldn’t be alone.”

Kate went into her office. “Call the hospital and have them tell William not to leave Buffy’s room. You and I can be there in twenty minutes.”

Liam called the hospital and was connected to the nurses station on Buffy’s floor. He explained who he was and why he was calling. Kate watched as his all the color leeched out of Liam’s face and her heart sank.

“Are you sure? Of course you are. Ok, if you see Mr. Reed have him wait there for me. Tell him _not_ to leave. Thanks.” Liam slowly hung up the phone.

“There wasn’t an emergency, was there?”

Liam shook his head. “Buffy’s fine, resting comfortably. The nurse had no idea what I was talking about. None of the nurses have seen William since this afternoon, either.”

“Let’s go.”

As they ran to Kate’s car, Liam did something he hadn’t done in years- he prayed.


	14. Chapter 14

Despite the lateness of the hour, the hospital’s parking garage was full. William finally found a spot and parked. He hurried inside, mind completely focused on Buffy. As he got off the elevator on Buffy’s floor, he nearly ran someone over. He stopped to apologize.

“Sorry, I didn’t…what are you doing here? Did the hospital call you about Buffy?”

* * *

Liam used his cell phone to call Gunn while mentally cursing the L.A. traffic for not giving way to the flashing lights and siren of Kate’s car. Inconsiderate assholes.

“Gunn, it’s me. We’ve got a problem.” Liam explained the situation. “That damn hospital is huge. I need you to get to Buffy’s room and stay there. If William shows up, keep him there. Hog tie him, sit on him, I don’t care. Just don’t let him leave. Call me if you find him.”

“I’m on my way,” Gunn said. “Want me to call Cordy and get her over there too?”

“Yeah and Wes as well. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”

* * *

Cordelia sat in her office, going through personnel files for the umpteenth time. She hadn’t found anything useful the first few times, but there a few people that warranted deeper background checks. She was wading through those files when something strange caught her eye.

“Now that’s odd.”

She scanned the employment application again and verified the name of the college. Back to the college admission records with the same results- no such student listed. She broadened her enrollment dates and got the same answer.

“Weird.”

She quickly pulled up a credit bureau report and things got stranger. No activity at all before the job with William’s publishing company. No credit cards, no loans, nothing.

“Who in this day and age has nothing on their credit report?”

She was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone.

“Hello? Gunn? I can barely hear you.”

Gunn’s voice again, staticy and fading in and out. Cordelia was able to make out trouble, William, and hospital.

“Gunn, I think I know who the stalker is. Gunn? Damn it!”

She’d lost him. She hung up the phone and reached into her desk drawer for her gun and her car keys.

* * *

There was something odd in the familiar blue eyes, something William couldn’t remember seeing there before. It made him uneasy.

“Is Buffy all right?”

“I would assume so, though I can’t be sure. I didn’t come here to see Buffy. I came here for you.”

“Me? Why would you…” William froze at the sight of the gun. “Emily?”

Emily gestured toward the stairwell. “I think we should find a more private place to talk, don’t you?”

She followed William through the door and when he hesitated she pressed the gun into the small of his back.

“Up the stairs, William. We’ve got lots to talk about.”

* * *

Liam and Kate emerged from the elevator and went straight to Buffy’s room. They found Gunn outside her door.

“She’s asleep and there’s no sign of William,” he told them.

Wesley arrived, looking harried. “The receptionist at the information desk saw him come in a few minutes ago. At least we know he made it this far. However, this place is huge. There‘s no way to cover it by ourselves.”

“I’ve got more officers on the way,“ Kate said.

“In the meantime, we know that none of the nurses made the call that Will received tonight. We have to assume it was his stalker so where the hell are they?”

Kate looked around. “There’s just the one elevator on this floor. If they left the floor, chances are they took the stairs.”

“True,” Liam said. He thought for a second. “Ok, Wesley I want you to stay here and wait for Cordy. She should be here any second. Then the two of you can start searching this floor. Gunn, Kate, you guys are with me.”

The trio made their way to the stairwell and Liam opened the door.

“What now, boss man? Up or down?” Gunn asked.

“You and Kate can head down, I’ll go up. There are more floors below us than above us, so it makes more sense for the two of you to go together.”

They split up and Liam began climbing the stairs, doing his best to ignore the voice in his head that kept whispering that he was never going to find William in time.

* * *

William found himself on the roof with Emily behind him. He turned and actually shivered. He’d never seen such rage and hate on a person’s face before. How had he never seen it there before?

“Emily I don’t understand what’s going on. Why are you doing this?”

Emily smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Of course you don’t William, but don’t worry. I’ll explain. Gee, where to start.”

She paused a minute, head cocked as she thought.

“You know, I first took the job with Marion so I could get close to you. I had planned to just kill you straight off, but you are kind of charming. I had forgotten that. I should have remembered how smooth you could be, how easily you can make people like you.”

William frowned, puzzled. Had he met Emily before she worked for Marion? He racked his brain, but kept coming up blank. Emily noticed the frown and she laughed.

“Come on William. I haven’t really changed that much, have I?”

William searched her face carefully, really looking for probably the first time. He started into those unfathomable blue eyes and a memory sparked.

“ _Anya_?”

“You sound surprised. Hate to disappoint you, but I’m not as dead as you and your little friends wanted me to be.”

Her eyes glittered with insane rage and William’s stomach crawled.

“Wanted? Anya, we never wanted you dead.”

“Shut up, William, it’s my turn to talk and you’re going to listen. I’m going to tell you a little story. Once upon a time a beautiful young girl moved to a perfect California town. She met a handsome if slightly goofy young man and before you know it, she was head over heels in love. The only downside to the little fairy tale was the handsome boy’s loathsome friends. They didn’t like the girl; thought she was too opinionated, too rude, too whatever for the young man. The girl learned to put up with it, though, because she loved the man. Then along came another young man and the girl was very happy. Maybe she’d be less lonely now. After all, the handsome blond stranger was new and wouldn’t really fit in with the group either. Funny thing was he fit in just fine, didn’t he William? He was welcomed into the group like a long lost family member while I still stood on the outside. It didn’t matter that I’d been with Xander for two years by then. None of you were ever going to accept me. None of you ever thought that I was good enough for Xander.

But you know, I didn’t care. I learned not to and it was ok because Xander loved me and that’s what mattered. He accepted me and even if you guys didn’t, that was fine because I had Xander’s love. So there we are planning a wedding, planning a life together and suddenly he drops this bombshell on me.

Seems Xander has decided he doesn’t want to get married. He doesn’t want to be with me because he’s fallen in love with someone else. I’ll give you one guess as to who that someone was.”

Stunned realization showed on William’s face and Emily laughed bitterly.

“Yep! You. Suddenly, I’m not what he wants. Oh, I knew he had something on his mind, knew that something was bothering him. He’d been a lot quieter, didn’t want to have sex. I just figured he was getting a little nervous with the wedding so close. We were on our way to pick up my dress and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I asked him what was wrong and he broke down. He told me all about you and your one night together. He actually told me that he didn’t love me anymore, hadn’t in a while, and that he couldn’t marry me. We argued and I actually begged him not to throw away all our years together because of a one night stand. I told him I could forgive him just that one time.

He smiled this dopey smile and said that it hadn’t been just a fuck. That the two of you had made love, that he was praying that you felt the same way.”

Tears came to Anya’s eyes and she had to choke down the rage and the shame so she could continue speaking.

“He actually called it making love. He never did that with me. It was always just sex to him. I was so angry that I didn’t think. I unbuckled my seat belt and slid over the seat. I started to hit him and the next thing I knew we were going through the guardrail. No seat belt so I ended up going through the windshield. Obviously, I don’t remember anything after that.”

William’s head was spinning and he was afraid his knees might buckle he was shaking so hard.

“Anya, I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t know.‘

Anya didn’t appear to have heard him.

“You’d think that that would be the worst thing that could happen, wouldn’t you? That it couldn’t get worse than waking up with a face like hamburger and a dead fiancé, but you’d be wrong. Because I found out that I’d been asleep for months and my friends had written me off as dead. No one even looked for me.”

“It wasn’t like that. I swear.”

Anya waved a hand in his direction. “It doesn’t matter. By the time I woke up, Anya Jenkins was officially dead and I was no one. That’s when I decided that you needed to pay for what you’d done to me and to Xander. I spent years fantasizing about the best way to make you suffer. I took the job with Marion so I could close to you, but things didn’t work out like I had planned. There was that charming thing getting in the way and I was actually kind of liking you. Then I read those books you wrote, the ones with the vampires? And I knew- that guy was Xander. You made him handsome and brave and strong and I knew Xander would have loved that. I was really starting to like you and then what happens? You make him gay! You perverted the character just like you did my Xander only this time everyone would know about it. It wouldn’t just be some dirty little secret. Everyone would know that Xander had left me for a guy. Something had to be done.”

She raised the gun and took careful aim.

“I’ve been taking lessons. Let’s see if they’ve paid off, hmm?”

* * *

Liam had been slowly making his way upstairs, checking each access door, and finding all of them locked. He was halfway to the roof when he heard a gun shot. He raced up the stairs, long legs taking them two at a time. He forced himself to slow down at the door to the roof and take a deep breath. Cautiously, he opened the door and stepped onto the roof. What he saw made his blood run cold.

Emily was standing with her back to him, Will just beyond her. He was clutching his left arm and bright red blood seeped between his fingers. Liam inched closer, keeping his gun trained on Emily.

“Emily? It’s Liam McLoughlin. I need you to put the gun down and talk to me.”

She whirled on him. “I don’t think so. William and are I aren’t finished here.”

“I won’t let you hurt him.”

Something must have shown on his face because she turned to William with a disgusted glare. “Jesus, him too?”

She turned back to Liam. “Put the gun down and kick it across the roof. I don’t need you playing hero.”

“I can’t do that, Emily.”

“Anya, don’t do this. Just let Liam help you,” William said.

Liam’s brow furrowed, but before he could say anything Anya had fired again, this time nicking William’s thigh.

“Put the gun down, hero, or the next shot will be a killing one.”

Out of options, Liam did as he was told. Anya turned back to William.

“And once again, this is all your fault. I’m going to have to kill him too and I really wasn’t planning on that. Oh well. I’m nothing if not adaptable.”

“Anya, please, just let Liam leave.”

“Aw, pleading for you lover. How…frickin’ disgusting. It’s been fun, but if he’s here then his friends aren’t far behind. Good bye, William.”

She raised the gun and Liam made his move. Out of the corner of her eye, Anya some him coming and she pivoted smoothly and fired at Liam. The bullet hit him high in the shoulder, knocking him off his feet. William lunged at Anya and managed to get a grip on the gun. They struggled and William’s grip kept slipping; his left arm was numb and his fingers were sticky with blood.

Anya brought her knee up, catching William squarely in the groin. He doubled over in pain and Anya stumbled a few steps back. She brought the gun up and William heard the deafening explosion, waited for the searing pain. Instead he saw Anya’s eyes widen in shock, saw the bright red stain spreading over her chest. He turned and saw Cordelia, gun still pointed at Anya. Anya aimed at William again and Cordelia fired, this round catching Anya high in the chest and knocking her backwards. William could only watch as Anya hit the ledge of the roof and tumbled over.

Cordelia rushed over to William, kneeling down next to him.

“Don’t worry about me, where’s Liam?”

“Right here, _A Ghrá_.” Liam moved stiffly, wounded arm clutched tightly to his belly. “Are you ok, Will?”

“Fine, it’s just a scratch.”

The door burst open and Gunn arrived with Kate right behind him.

“Hell of an entrance, Charlie, but you’re too late. Your girl here already saved the day.”

Gunn gave him a relieved smile. “Can’t go wrong when you depend on my Cordy. Looks like you’re gonna need a few stitches, though. Billy.”

Liam frowned. “Billy?”

“Idol.” Liam’s expression didn’t change and Gunn rolled his eyes. “Damn, boss man, you have got to start listening to something recorded in this century.”

The entire group burst out laughing at Liam’s sheepish expression. Cordelia carefully helped William to his feet.

“Come on, let’s get you two patched up.”

Mindful of Liam’s arm, William leaned in to kiss his lover.

“So- you, me, sun, sand, clothing optional. How does that sound?”

Liam grinned. “Sounds like a plan, Will.”

* * *

 _Epilogue_

William couldn’t believe they were finally going. Between his and Liam’s wounds, helping Kate tie up loose ends with the investigation, explaining everything to the gang, and then waiting to make sure Buffy was ok, William had been beginning to wonder if he and Liam would ever get that vacation. Finally, though, they were packed and ready to go. William just needed to make one stop first.

He crouched down so he could read the words carved in marble.

 __

Alexander Harris  
Our heart and soul- you will always be missed

He ran his fingers gently over the date of Xander’s death. His voice was full of regret when he spoke.

“God, Xan, I wish you had told me. Told me before her. Maybe this wouldn’t have happened. You wouldn’t have, though, I know that. You would never have come to me until you were free. Too bloody noble you were. Always doing the right thing. I miss you, Xan. So much. We all do”

He wiped his eyes and turned to where he could see Liam standing a few feet away. He turned back to Xander’s grave.

“I met someone. I didn’t want to after you, but then he came along and I just couldn’t help it. He’s…everything. I don’t know how to explain it, but I know I don’t have to. Not to you. You always got me. I wish you could have met him. The two of you would have liked each other. I’m sure of it. I have to go now. Gonna spend a few weeks just being with him. I think we need that after all this.”

He stood and placed a gentle hand on the headstone.

“Good bye, Xander. I love you.”

William turned and walked towards Liam, smiling when the bigger man held out his hand.

“Come on, love, it’s time to go,” William said.

“Ready whenever you are, my Will. _Is grá liom thú_.”

“Love you too. Let’s get a move on. We’ve got a plane to catch.”


End file.
